Photo by| Logan Kirkland
Gainesville, Florida- Winning in the Swamp is never easy no matter how good the Florida Gators are, and the Rebels weren’t able to escape Gainesville with a victory despite being the heavy favorite.
The offense struggled the entire game as the Rebels coughed up two fumbles and the defense could not stop the Gators as Florida cruised to a 38-10 upset victory over Ole Miss.
Florida quarterback Will Grier led an impressive Gator offense going 24 for 29 passing for 271 yards with 4 touchdowns. Grier was questionable to even play in this game as he battled an illness all week.
On the other hand, things didn’t go as planned for Ole Miss quarterback Chad Kelly. The junior struggled, going 26 for 40 passing for 259 yards with one touchdown, two fumbles, and an interception.
Florida got on the board in the first five minutes thanks to a Will Grier 36-yard touchdown pass to Demarcus Robinson. The junior wide receiver came up big for the Gators as he finished with eight catches for 98 yards with one touchdown.
On their next possession, Chad Kelly failed to successfully hand the ball off to Jaylen Walton, who fumbled the football. Florida recovered the ball and would score on another Grier touchdown pass to tight end Jake McGee from two yards out.
The Rebels had one of their better drives of the game early in the second quarter as Ole Miss drove a 9-play, 80-yard drive that gave Ole Miss a chance to get back in the game. However, that did not go as planned as sophomore kicker Gary Wunderlich missed a 29-yard field goal.
Florida continued to swamp the Rebels as Grier connected with wide receiver Brandon Powell from 77 yards out, and with Antonio Callaway from 15 yards to close out halftime with a 25-0 lead.
Ole Miss opened the second half with the football and had a chance to punch a touchdown in as the Rebels had a first and goal opportunity from the 1-yard line. Ole Miss failed to score a touchdown, and instead settled for a 22-yard field goal from Gary Wunderlich. Despite scoring, Ole Miss took up too much time on that possession as the drive lasted 19 plays and took up 9:35.
The Rebels again had another opportunity to get back in the game late in the third quarter, but a Chad Kelly fumble gave Ole Miss no life as he fumbled the ball on a scramble crossing midfield.
The only touchdown of the game for the Rebels came late in the fourth quarter as Kelly connected with Markell Pack for a 7-yard touchdown.
The Ole Miss offensive line continued to struggle without All-American Left Tackle Laremy Tunsil, who once again sat out due to the recent NCAA investigation.
Florida’s defense dominated the line of scrimmage forcing a lot of negative plays from the Rebels. The Gators sacked Chad Kelly four times and put him on the ground a lot in this game.
Ole Miss returns to the gridiron this Saturday as they will host New Mexico State at 11:00 a.m. at Vaught Hemingway Stadium for Homecoming.
