Baugh Game: Gators Run Over No. 4 Ole Miss 52-28 in The Swamp
Updated: 15 hours ago
GAINESVILLE — Every time No. 4 Ole Miss punched, Florida punched back harder.
Jadan Baugh ran for 142 yards and three touchdowns, the Gators scored touchdowns on their first five possessions of the second half, and No. 21 Florida beat the Rebels 52-28 on Saturday at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Florida is 4-0 and 2-0 in the SEC, and it now leads the all-time series 14-13-1. Ole Miss fell to 3-1.
The answer, every time
Ole Miss came out of halftime down 17-6 and took five plays and 1:53 to make it a game. Trinidad Chambliss capped the 80-yard drive with an 8-yard touchdown run, then hit Horatio Fields for a two-point conversion to cut it to 17-14.
Florida needed four plays to answer. London Montgomery returned the kickoff 41 yards, and Duke Clark broke a 45-yard touchdown run to make it 24-14.
The Rebels came back with a 14-play, 74-yard drive, and Chambliss scored from 10 yards out to make it 24-21. Montgomery returned the next kickoff 74 yards to the Ole Miss 26. Three plays later, Aaron Philo scored from a yard out, and Florida never led by fewer than 10 points again.
Run the ball, win the game
Florida ran for 302 yards on 53 carries and held the ball for 36:59. Baugh carried 29 times and scored on runs of 4, 2 and 2 yards. Clark added 126 yards on 12 carries, so both backs topped 100 yards, and wide receiver Dallas Wilson scored on a 6-yard run.
Philo completed 16 of 23 passes for 196 yards, threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to tight end Amir Jackson and ran for another score. Eric Singleton Jr., a game-time decision on the SEC availability report, played and caught a 38-yard pass. Florida did not turn the ball over.
Ole Miss played without star running back Kewan Lacy, who was ruled out before kickoff. Lacy ran for 224 yards and three touchdowns in the Rebels’ 34-24 win over Florida last November. Without him, Ole Miss ran for 128 yards.
Two takeaways, one more stop
Chambliss threw for 298 yards and a touchdown and ran for two more scores, and Deuce Alexander caught seven passes for 134 yards. But Florida’s defense made the plays that decided it.
With Ole Miss at the Florida 40 late in the third quarter, Jayden Woods sacked Chambliss, who fumbled, and Myles Graham recovered. The Gators drove 57 yards for Wilson’s touchdown and a 38-21 lead. After Ole Miss cut it to 38-28 on Chambliss’ 2-yard touchdown pass to Alexander, Philo found Jackson to push the lead back to 17. DJ Coleman later intercepted Chambliss at the Florida 5.
The tone was set early. Aaron Chiles stuffed JT Lindsey on fourth-and-1 in the first quarter, and Patrick Durkin followed with a 49-yard field goal. Baugh scored twice before halftime, and two Lucas Carneiro field goals were all Ole Miss managed in the first 30 minutes.
By the numbers
302 — Florida rushing yards on 53 carries, part of 498 total yards.
268 — Combined rushing yards for Jadan Baugh (142) and Duke Clark (126). Both backs went over 100.
35 — Second-half points. Florida scored touchdowns on its first five possessions after halftime.
6 — Rushing touchdowns: Baugh 3, Clark, Aaron Philo and Dallas Wilson.
0 — Florida turnovers. Ole Miss lost a fumble and threw an interception.
36:59 — Florida’s time of possession, 13:58 more than Ole Miss.
6 of 10 — Florida on third down. Ole Miss went 4 of 11.
14-13-1 — Florida’s new lead in the all-time series with Ole Miss.
2020 — The last time Florida had beaten a top-five team before Saturday, according to The Alligator and CBS Sports.
The celebration
When the clock hit 0:00, the Gators headed for the band. Players crowded in front of the stands with their arms and helmets in the air, the Gators’ mascot pushed into the middle of it, and the sold-out crowd stayed to celebrate with them. Chris Spears was on the field for it.
Florida goes back on the road next, at Missouri on Saturday, Oct. 3, at 3:30 p.m. ET.
Postgame reaction: what Jon Sumrall, Jadan Baugh and the Gators said. Column: Carlton Reese on why the Gators are contenders, not hopefuls.
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