GAME RECAP: No. 23 Florida Dominates No. 4 Ole Miss 52–28 in The Swamp

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The Swamp got the ranked scalp it came for.

No. 23 Florida ran No. 4 Ole Miss out of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, 52–28, behind 291 rushing yards, six rushing touchdowns, and a 21-point fourth quarter that turned a one-score scrap into a statement. Jadan Baugh scored three times. Duke Clark ripped a 45-yarder. Aaron Philo added a rushing score and a passing score. The Gators never trailed.

Florida improved to 4–0 (2–0 SEC). Ole Miss fell to 3–1 (1–1 SEC).

The first punch belonged to the home backfield. Baugh finished an eight-play, 65-yard opener from 4 yards at 10:53 of the first. Patrick Durkin converted. Two minutes later Durkin drilled a 49-yarder, and it was 10–0 before Ole Miss had found the end zone.

Lucas Carneiro got the Rebels on the board with a 36-yard field goal at 10:13 of the second. Florida answered the long way. Fifteen plays. Eighty-seven yards. Baugh from 2 yards at 2:51. Carneiro added a 46-yarder before the half. Florida 17, Ole Miss 6 at the break. The visitors had yards. The Gators had the lead and the ground game.

Ole Miss made it a game after halftime.

Trinidad Chambliss scored from 8 yards at 13:03 of the third and hit Horatio Fields for the two-point conversion. Suddenly it was 17–14, and The Swamp got quiet the way The Swamp gets quiet when a top-five team starts believing.

Clark ended that in one snap. Forty-five yards. Durkin’s kick. Florida 24–14. Chambliss answered from 10 yards at 5:21 to cut it to 24–21. Philo walked in from a yard at 3:45. Florida 31–21 after three, and the ranked visitor had spent its best punch.

The fourth quarter was a squeeze.

Dallas Wilson scored from 6 yards at 13:38. Chambliss found Deuce Alexander for a touchdown at 12:09 to make it 38–28. Philo hit Amir Jackson from 5 yards at 9:19. Baugh punched in his third score from 2 yards at 4:00. Durkin was 7-for-7 on extra points. Ole Miss’ last look died when DJ Coleman intercepted Chambliss at the Florida 5.

The Gators finished with 487 yards. Baugh carried 29 times for 142 yards and three touchdowns. Clark needed only 12 carries to get 126 yards and the dagger run. Philo went 16-of-23 for 196 yards, one touchdown pass, and the 1-yard sneak. Wilson and Jackson found the end zone. Eric Singleton Jr. added a 38-yard catch that set up the last Baugh score. Florida did not turn the ball over.

Ole Miss had 393 yards and never stopped the run. Chambliss went 25-of-33 for 265 yards, one touchdown pass, and two rushing scores. Alexander caught seven balls for 134 yards and a score. Makhi Frazier led the Rebel rushers with 42 yards. Carneiro was 2-for-2 from 36 and 46. Keaton Thomas had 10 tackles. None of it slowed Florida’s second-half pace.

Myles Graham led the Gators with eight tackles. Aaron Chiles had seven. The front stacked four tackles for loss and a sack. The Swamp spent the last 15 minutes celebrating a result that will move more than a needle.

No. 4 came to Gainesville unbeaten. No. 23 sent it home with 28 points and a lot of film on a Florida run game that just dropped 291 yards on one of the sport’s best résumés.

The Gators are 4–0. The Swamp sounded like it.