No. 3 Ole Miss Rebels upset by No. 25 Florida Gators
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Ole Miss entered Saturday night with three upsets of Florida in the past four games in the series. The Gators exacted revenge Saturday night at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
The No. 3 Rebels lost, 38-10, to the No. 25 Gators in front of 90,585 fans, ending their chances of a perfect season and jeopardizing their hopes of qualifying for the College Football Playoff.
“They beat us in about every facet of the game that you can imagine,” Rebels head coach Hugh Freeze said. “We didn’t play with the intensity that you have to in this environment early on to be able to compete. We didn’t take care of the football.
“I think it was a solid game plan, but we certainly didn’t execute it, which means we didn’t do a good enough job preparing our kids to play in this kind of environment.”
Gators quarterback Will Grier — who reportedly, along with several of his teammates, had been battling the flu this week — completed 24 of 29 passes for 271 yards and four touchdowns. He’s the first Gator to throw for four touchdowns in a half since Chris Leak on Sept. 24, 2005.
“He was really moving in the pocket, giving himself time,” Rebels safety Mike Hilton said. “His receivers were making plays when the ball was in the air and creating separation from us DBs. They really had a chance to make plays and go up and attack the football.”
The Rebels (4-1, 2-1 SEC) can blame their loss on a poor first half. They trailed, 25-0, going into halftime, though they entered allowing just 19.2 points per game, No. 34 nationally.
Quarterback Chad Kelly was one of the few bright spots for the Rebels. He completed 26 of 40 passes for 259 yards and had one touchdown against one interception. He also rushed 15 times for 40 yards but was sacked four times.
The Gators (5-0, 3-0 SEC) opened the scoring with a 36-yard touchdown pass from Grier to wide receiver Demarcus Robinson less than 6 minutes into the game. It was the first opening-quarter touchdown the Rebels have allowed this season.
The Rebels’ defense soon added a second to that mark.
Following a fumble by Rebels running back Jaylen Walton, Grier completed a 2-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jake McGee with 6:48 remaining in the first quarter. The score gave the Gators, who missed their extra point attempt, a 13-0 lead going into the second quarter.
The Rebels entered the game outscoring opponents 65-3 in the first quarter, the lone points a field goal Sept. 26 by Vanderbilt. They haven’t been held scoreless in the first quarter or trailed entering the second quarter over their first four games this season.
The Gators added two receiving touchdowns in the second quarter, but their 2-point conversion attempts failed both times, giving them their 25-0 lead at halftime.
Rebels kicker Gary Wunderlich had an opportunity to give the Rebels their first points in the second quarter but missed a 29-yard field goal wide right. It was his second miss in eight attempts this season, the first one that hadn’t been blocked.
Wunderlich gave the Rebels their first points on a 22-yard field goal with 5:25 remaining in the third quarter, trimming the deficit to 25-3. The score capped a 19-play, 70-yard drive that started when the Rebels received the ball exiting halftime.
They faced a first-and-goal from Florida’s 1-yard line but couldn’t score following rush attempts by Walton (no gain) and two from Jordan Wilkins (losses of 2 yards apiece). The stalled drive continued their goal-line trouble from their game against Vanderbilt.
“I’ve coached long enough to know you have nights like this,” Freeze said. “It’s not fun. But you’ve got to take the criticism that comes with it and get your team better. We’re still right in the thick of the West race, and we’re going to go play and get better.”
Contact Daniel Paulling at dpaulling@jackson.gannett.com. Follow @DanielPaulling on Twitter.
KEY PLAYER
WILL GRIER, FLORIDA
He completed 24 of 29 passes for 271 yards and four touchdowns, all of which came in the first quarter. Their lone rushing touchdown came with 6:20 remaining in the game
KEY FIGURE
10
The Rebels were held to a season-low 10 points — the previous figure had been 27 against Vanderbilt — against a defense that gave up an average of 18.2 points per game entering Saturday.
