For 30 minutes, it looked like Florida might finally put together a complete road performance. Then reality—and the fourth quarter—arrived.
The Florida Gators FALL SHORT AGAIN: Ole Miss PULLS AWAY LATE vs Florida | Lane NOT TALKING
The Gators fell to Ole Miss 34-24 in Oxford, dropping to 3-7 on the season in a game that perfectly encapsulated their 2025 campaign: flashes of brilliance followed by an offensive disappearing act when it mattered most.
Quarterback DJ Lagway was electric early, accounting for two touchdowns—one through the air, one on the ground—as Florida built a 24-20 halftime advantage. The offense was clicking on all cylinders, scoring on four consecutive possessions in the first half, including drives of 75, 75, and 55 yards. By intermission, the Gators had already racked up 223 total yards and 24 points against an Ole Miss defense that entered allowing just 19.8 points per game.
Then came the second half.
Florida managed just 103 yards after the break, continuing a troubling pattern that has plagued them throughout the season: the inability to sustain drives in the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, the Ole Miss defense locked in, shutting out the Gators entirely in the second half.
The Rebels capitalized on Florida’s stagnation behind running back Kewan Lacy, who torched the Gator defense for a career-high 224 yards and three touchdowns on 31 carries. Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss added 301 passing yards and a score, doing just enough to overcome red zone struggles that saw the Rebels turn the ball over on downs twice inside the 5-yard line.
“We need to do a better job of wrapping up and tackling,” Florida’s Gonzales admitted of Lacy’s performance. “But give him credit, he’s a fantastic football player.”
The victory marked another milestone for Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin, who secured his third straight 10-win season—the longest such streak in program history. His four 10-win campaigns over the past five years exceed the total the Rebels achieved in the previous 50 seasons combined.
For Florida, it’s another painful reminder that moral victories don’t change the scoreboard—or salvage a season that continues to slip away, one fourth quarter at a time.