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.
From poor blocking to failed handoffs to shaky snaps to questionable play-calling, the offense struggled the entire game as the Rebels turned the ball over four times, which led to 19 points scored by the Gators.
On the other side of the ball, the defense missed tackle after tackle and could not stop the Gators as Florida (5-0, 3-0 SEC) cruised to a 38-10 upset victory over Ole Miss.
“Difficult night. They beat us in about every facet of the game that you can imagine,” Hugh Freeze, head coach, said. “Our plan was solid, but we didn’t execute it, which means we didn’t do a good enough job preparing our kids to play in this environment.”
Florida quarterback Will Grier led an impressive Gator offense going 24 for 29 passing for 271 yards with 4 touchdowns. Grier, who battled an illness all week, was questionable to even play in this game.
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.
Ole Miss (4-1, 2-1 SEC) anticipated a tough challenge against the Florida defense, but it was too much to overcome. The Rebels were 5-for-14 on third-down conversions attempts, and a lot of those conversions were long, very long.
“We just never got in a rhythm and when a big play came our way we didn’t make the play,” Ole Miss junior quarterback Chad Kelly said. “You just have to get better every day and that’s about it.”
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.
Think about that for a second. The once top-ranked offense in America put up nothing at halftime. The rejuvenated Chad Kelly could not do what he does best, throwing the deep ball. Florida took Ole Miss out of the game by halftime, and the Rebels faced a tough challenge if they were going to come back and win.
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.
In three plays starting at the 1-yard line, Ole Miss lost a total of four years and instead of a touchdown trailing by 25, settled for a 22-yard field goal from Gary Wunderlich.
Despite scoring, there was a big problem.
Ole Miss took up too much time on that possession. The drive lasted 19 plays and took up nine minutes and 35 seconds.
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.
Ole Miss started the season 4-0 because they took care of the ball offensively, and forced their opponents to turn the ball over.
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.
“We just didn’t execute. Being the leader of the offense, it starts with me,” Kelly said. “People look at me when things go wrong, and I have to do a better job of making sure that everyone is on the same page. We’ve got to make sure this doesn’t happen again because losing is the worse thing ever.”
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.
“I’m concerned for everything, the offensive line being one of them,” Freeze said. “We’re playing some young kids up there against a really good defensive front. Everybody has some young kids and everybody has some injuries and nobody really wants to hear that.”
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.
“Everything was kind of frustrating, little things from missed assignments to missed tackles,” Ole Miss rover Mike Hilton said. “Everything just piled on top of us and we just didn’t bounce back well and it showed. But, it happens in college football, we just got to bounce back and get ready for next week.”
Ole Miss returns to the gridiron this Saturday, as they will host New Mexico State at 11 a.m. at Vaught Hemingway Stadium for the homecoming game.
