No. 21 Florida quells No. 4 Ole Miss: Takeaways as Gators continue offensive dominance in drubbing

Football

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Image Credit: UAA

History is being made by the Florida Gators in Year 1 under head coach Jon Sumrall and offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner — to the point it’s fair to wonder what it will take to slow the team down. No. 21 Florida eviscerated the No. 4 Ole Miss Rebels on Saturday afternoon, 52-28, routing one of the top teams in the nation with a scoreboard-rocking performance inside Ben Hill Griffin Stadium that fans could only have dreamed of witnessing even a year ago.

The Gators literally and figuratively ran up and down the field on the Rebels with junior Jadan Baugh and sophomore Duke Clark each eclipsing 100 yards rushing as Florida became just the sixth team since the turn of the century to have four or more players score touchdowns on the ground against a top-five team.

Now having scored 214 points through the first four weeks of the season, the Gators are off to the second-most prolific offensive start in program history, only behind the 1996 national championship-winning team led by Steve Spurrier that scored 217 points after four games. That is also the only other year in which UF scored 50+ points in three of its first four games, as the program has done in 2026.

Baugh dominated the early stages of Saturday’s contest, compiling 142 total yards and three touchdowns, giving him 11 scores on the season. However, it was Clark who exploded through the Ole Miss defense time and again; his game-long rushes of 45 and 44 yards rocketed Florida’s offense down the field. He found pay dirt for good measure, too, while compiling 126 yards on the ground.

While junior quarterback Aaron Philo did not play his most accurate game, he continued to make smart passes and spread the ball around to eight different pass catchers, finishing with 196 yards passing, 11 yards rushing and two total touchdowns.

The defense most certainly had its issues, particularly in the secondary, but it did enough in key moments to keep Rebels star QB Trinidad Chambliss — seen by many as the Heisman Trophy frontrunner — at bay. Chambliss scored three total touchdowns but was tagged for a pair of turnovers with senior safety DJ Coleman grabbing an effective game-ending interception late in the fourth quarter.

Sumrall became the sixth of the last eight Gators coaches to beat a top-five team in his first year, joining Steve Spurrier, Ron Zook, Urban Meyer, Jim McElwain and Dan Mullen.

Takeaways to come!