No. 4 Ole Miss walked into Gainesville and came out with its worst defensive showing of the Pete Golding era, getting blasted 52-28 by No.
21 Florida on Saturday. The loss raised plenty of questions, especially after all the talk about whether the Rebels could reset emotionally after last week’s win over LSU.
For much of the afternoon, they looked like a team still carrying that weight.
The biggest issue was obvious: Florida ran straight through Ole Miss. The Rebels had poured major resources into that side of the ball in the offseason, adding 29 transfers overall and 13 on defense, with safety Sharif Denson, safety Joenel Aguero, linebackers Keaton Thomas and Luke Ferelli among the key names. None of it showed up in a meaningful way in this one.
Ole Miss gave up 302 yards on the ground and an eye-popping six rushing touchdowns. Jadan Baugh did most of the damage, going for 142 yards and three scores on 29 carries, while Duke Clark added 126 yards and a touchdown on 12 attempts. Whatever the Rebels expected from that defensive overhaul, it wasn’t the version that took the field in the Swamp.
The offense didn’t have its full punch either. With Heisman-contender running back Kewan Lacy out, Ole Miss never found the kind of balance it usually leans on. The Rebels finished with 128 rushing yards, but no player cleared 50, and quarterback Trinidad Chambliss led the team on the ground with 44 yards.
That lack of a true feature back showed up in a hurry. JT Lindsey and Makhi Frazier were asked to carry more of the load and didn’t deliver, combining for 19 carries, 73 yards and no touchdowns. The depth Ole Miss believed it had in the backfield didn’t hold up in this matchup.
Special teams added another ugly layer. Florida ripped off four kickoff returns for 151 yards, a huge 37.8-yard average, after the Rebels had been allowing 17.75 yards per return coming in. Ole Miss gave up returns of 41 and 74 yards, and Florida turned both of those long runs into quick scoring drives, needing fewer than five plays each time to finish the job.
Kickoff coverage had not been a problem area for Ole Miss before Saturday. Across 2024 and 2025, the Rebels had allowed 21 kickoff returns for 434 yards, which works out to just 20.67 yards per return. That kind of breakdown in the return game, though, can wreck a team fast if it keeps happening.
Ole Miss now gets an open date before heading to Nashville to face Vanderbilt on October 10th. The kickoff time has not been announced.
In Other News...
Mississippi State Has Earned A Ranking Debate Fans Wont Ignore
Mississippi States fast start has turned what looked like a solid opening month into a real ranking conversation. The Bulldogs are 4-0 and already 2-0 in SEC play, with a win over No. 25 Missouri helping push them up to No. 16 in the AP Poll, and sophomore quarterback Kamario Taylor has been one of the biggest reasons for the surge. Taylor has thrown for 1,192 yards and 14 touchdowns, tying for the national lead in passing scores and giving Mississippi State the kind of offensive punch that can make voters take notice.
The debate now is whether the Bulldogs have done enough to climb higher despite the company they still have to keep in the schedule. Teams ahead of them have stumbled, which only sharpens the argument around Mississippi States place in the poll, but the next stretch will say plenty about how serious this start really is. No. 7 Alabama is looming, and LSU is not far behind, leaving the Bulldogs with a chance to turn an early ranking into something much more difficult to dismiss. [Read more 🡒]
Ole Miss Has A Heisman Problem Fans Can't Ignore
The late-September Heisman conversation had a few familiar faces in it, but Ole Miss had its own reason to pay attention. Across the weekend, standout performances from quarterbacks, running backs and wide receivers around the country kept the race crowded, with individual game breakthroughs and efficient stat lines nudging certain players into the spotlight as the season starts to settle into its next stretch.
For Rebels fans, the issue is less about the national debate itself and more about what it says about where Ole Miss fits in that race. The review of the weekend's biggest efforts, along with a look ahead to upcoming matchups for some of those players, underscores how quickly the conversation can shift once October football gets rolling. Ole Miss can still make noise, but the path to having a true Heisman contender is starting to feel like a problem fans can't ignore. [Read more 🡒]
Trinidad Chambliss Gives Ole Miss Hope Despite One Ugly Warning Sign
Ole Miss left the loss to Florida with a sharp reminder of how quickly a game can get away from it when the defense cannot slow the run. The Gators piled up more than 300 rushing yards, turning the afternoon into a long one for the Rebels and exposing a problem that will need fixing if this team wants to hold up in SEC play.
Trinidad Chambliss still gave Ole Miss a reason to keep looking forward, though, because the quarterback handled a heavy load and produced one of the better individual outings of the day. He completed 25 of 34 passes for 298 yards with a touchdown and an interception, and added 44 rushing yards with two scores, giving the Rebels a clear offensive centerpiece even in a loss that raised more questions than answers. [Read more 🡒]