Contenders, Not Hopefuls: Florida’s Rout of No. 4 Ole Miss Puts the SEC on Notice
This is no longer a Florida team simply hoping to improve and be more competitive. This team is a legitimate contender for championships. With Saturday’s 52-28 thrashing of the fourth-ranked Ole Miss Rebels, Jon Sumrall’s Gators were the ones that looked every bit the top 5 team on the field.
Ole Miss had zero answers for a Gators offense that was utterly unstoppable, the likes we have not seen since Urban Meyer roamed the sidelines at The Swamp. This version might be even more satisfying – with the best running back in the country in Jadan Baugh and a running mate in Duke Clark that looks almost as good – as it can demoralize any defense with such a soul-crushing effort from those two.
“Our confidence is high,” said Baugh, who carried 29 times for 142 yards. “We feel we left points on the board, honestly.” He added: “I feel that no defense in the country could stop us from putting up points.”
When one puts up 52 points on a top 5 team, defensive coordinators around the world tend to take it seriously and start watching film to reverse engineer this thing weeks before facing them. That’s what Florida did on Saturday: thrust one more SEC team into the equation as national contender. Goodbye, Oklahoma; welcome, Florida.
Perhaps Ole Miss was still hung over from its emotional win over LSU last week – that may be true and, without a doubt, that’s what any Ole Miss apologist is saying today.
Perhaps the absence of Kewan Lacy, the Rebels’ outstanding back who will have to watch Baugh accept the honor for First Team All-America running back this season, made this an unfair fight. Without a doubt, that’s what any Ole Miss apologist is saying today.
Perhaps Trinidad Chambliss’ early injury rendered him less effective than he normally would have been. Without a doubt, that’s what any Ole Miss apologist is saying today.
If it makes them feel better about their team, a talented one that had earned its high ranking, then so be it. But they would be wrong. The better team won this game hangover or not, Kewan Lacy or not. As for Chambliss’ injury, he got his pain killers and was the same quarterback he has always been.
No, this day was not about what Ole Miss lacked, it was about a showcase. It was Clubber Lang scaring the hell out of everyone and calling out Rocky Balboa.
The Gators entered this season unheralded and very hungry. There was talent on the roster that was underperforming and if you want to blame the previous administration you would be very reasonable in making such a claim. Sumrall has achieved something remarkable that Billy Napier never could. He has backed up a signature win with an even more signature win – the John Hancock of signatures.
For the second straight game, the Gators rolled up close to 500 yards offense against an SEC team not named Arkansas or Vanderbilt, an impressive feat to be sure. Now, it’s up to Sumrall to keep these Gators hungry all year – Missouri seems like a less daunting challenge, but the Tigers in Columbia will have earned a full understanding of what Florida brings to the table and will be no pushover. Unless, that is, Florida maintains the fire that has been conflagrating here since the spring.
On Saturday, Florida squandered opportunities early in the game and still led 17-3, when it looked more like 24-0. Such a scenario portends ugly things ahead, especially against a team as talented as Ole Miss, which can score 21 points in a matter of a few minutes. Not this time.
In the second half, when Ole Miss marched for a TD on its opening drive of the second half, the Gators still held serve and the mettle of its offense would be tested as it hadn’t been. They answered with a 4-play drive set up by London Montgomery’s long kick return to the 41-yard line and finished with Clark’s Baugh-esque 45-yard touchdown run. That kept Florida up the proverbial break, crucial against an Ole Miss offense that seemed to hit another gear in the third quarter.
Twice Ole Miss went for touchdowns to make it a one-score game and twice Florida answered with TDs of its own. Again, it was Montgomery giving the Gators a short field with a kick return all the way to the Ole Miss 26. Aaron Philo would connect with tight end Amir Jackson for 23 yards to the 3 and Philo finished it himself with a keeper into the end zone.
Every blow Ole Miss administered, Florida answered. The third opportunity for Ole Miss ended with the Florida defense forcing a turnover when Jayden Woods sacked Chambliss and forced a fumble recovered by Myles Graham. Seven plays later, Dallas Wilson would carry it into the end zone from 6 yards out, putting the Gators up two breaks. This one was effectively over.
Florida would score touchdowns on five straight possessions. Let that sink in. No turnovers during that span. No field goals attempted. All touchdowns. That’s how you put 52 points on the board against a team the caliber of Ole Miss and suck the life out of them.
“We still are not a finished product by any stretch of the imagination,” Sumrall said after the game. Such is a scary thought if you are Will Muschamp trying to devise Texas’ defensive scheme to stop Baugh and Clark while wondering how they will simultaneously cover Bailey Stockton, Dallas Wilson, Eric Singleton Jr., Vernell Brown III and even tight ends Amir Jackson and Luke Harpring. If all these guys are healthy and Florida’s offensive line (thought to be the Achilles’ heel of this team at the start of the season) continues to perform at a high level, opposing teams may simply have to resort to outscoring Florida instead of stopping them.
The Vegas bookmakers placed Ole Miss a 3.5-point underdog against the Gators, and Sumrall seemed aghast. This is why gambling on football is a foolish proposition – these bookies seem to know what they are doing, and the house always wins. From the current trajectory of this team, and a coach that seems to be focused on the distant future and in keeping his team hungry and playing with a sense of urgency, the odds will continue to fall in Florida’s favor.
Correction: Quotes from Jadan Baugh and Jon Sumrall were updated to match UF’s official transcripts, and the betting line was corrected to 3.5 points.
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