In a game where Florida remained competitive with the No. 6 Ole Miss Rebels (10-1, 6-1 SEC), DJ Lagway threw the near-victory out the window — a familiar occurrence for the Gators this season.
After leading Lane Kiffin’s squad 24-20 at halftime, the Gators (3-7, 2-5 SEC) struggled to put any points on the board in the final 30 minutes of play. Florida watched as the Rebels dominated the run game and secured the 34-20 win.
Despite Billy Gonzales dropping to 0-3 as interim head coach, there were still some positive takeaways from the game, while some obvious struggles persisted for the Gators.
Lagway’s arm showed flashes of greatness, until it was too late
After being benched following his three interceptions against Kentucky, Lagway showed similarities to his 2024 self.
The sophomore completed 9-of-17 passes for 155 yards and a touchdown in the first half. He connected with senior wideout J. Michael Sturdivant for a 57-yard touchdown pass.
“Getting the ball to my playmakers and finally got over the top of people,” Lagway said. “I’ve been waiting on that all season to have some success.”
Lagway threw a dagger to the UCLA transfer to put the Gators ahead 24-17. Sturdivant beat Antonio Kite on a deep post to set up Florida’s third, and final, touchdown of the night.
“We hit a couple big plays early on in the game,” Gonzales said. “We just got to put it together. This team’s competing, we just got to find a way to finish.”
The sophomore signal caller orchestrated a 12-play drive to close out the first half. Lagway helped Florida generate its highest point total in a single half since its Aug. 30 season opener against Long Island University (38).
Right as the Gators were knocking on the Rebels’ doorstep, Lagway fell back into the 2025 spiral. After attempting to find an open receiver while rolling out to his left, Ole Miss linebacker Suntarine Perkins got a hand on the pass and it fell into Wydett Williams Jr.’s arms.
“There’s a time to try to extend the play, but there’s also a time to understand that you just got to be able to pull the ball down and get the ball out of our hands at certain times,” Gonzales said.”
The interception changed the course of the contest, as several of his picks have this season.
“It’s a learning experience but we can’t throw back across our body when we’re coming back from the front to the left,” Gonzales said.
Lagway closed out the loss with 218 passing yards and added 34 yards on the ground. His throwing total is the highest since Oct. 18.
Once the second half kicked off, Lagway struggled to connect with his receivers. Florida’s second half drives consisted of two punts, two turnovers on downs and an interception.
In that span, Lagway accumulated just 63 yards through the air.
Elite running backs continue to have their way against Florida
Rebels running back Kewan Lacy posted 224 yards and three touchdowns. The junior came into Saturday’s contest averaging 91.2 rushing yards against opponents.
“We really just beat ourselves and shot ourselves in the foot in rushing, and it contributed to the score,” said sophomore linebacker Myles Graham.
UF is familiar with watching ball carriers rush for immense numbers. The Gators have allowed 133 yards on the ground per game prior to matching up with the Rebels’ ball carrier. Their rushing defense is ranked No. 11 in the SEC.
Lacy gathered career highs in both carries (31) and rushing yards. Ole Miss’ offense moved through him, and it paid off.
While the Gators contained quarterback Trinidad Chambliss on the ground, Lacy put the game away with his final two scores late in the fourth quarter.
The Rebels totaled 46 carries for 241 rushing yards in the win, and Lacy now is No. 2 in the SEC in rushing yards and No. 1 in touchdowns with 19.
“He’s proved what kind of running back he’s been all year,” Gonzales said. “He did an excellent job. We’ve got to do a better job of wrapping up and tackling.”
The front seven can contain mobile quarterbacks
Chambliss, a former DII National Champion with Ferris State, was credited with being one of college football’s top dual-threat passers this season.
The Gators maintained pressure on Chambliss throughout the loss and picked up five sacks.
Florida freshman Lagonza Hayward came flying off a cornerback blitz to take him down halfway through the third frame. Hayward made his third appearance this season and added his first career sack.
Junior linebacker Jaden Robinson brought the Rebels’ QB down on the following play, forcing a punt.
Although, all of Florida’s sacks and TFL came in the first half. Junior safety Jordan Castell led the defense with 10 total tackles, just shy of his career high.
The defense held Chambliss to just 10 rushing yards on 11 carries. He averaged 43.4 rushing yards prior to facing Florida.
“We knew Trinidad was a really good runner, but we held him to 10 yards,” Gonzales said. “The defense did a really good job of containing him.”
Rob Roberts’ group may bend but doesn’t break — until the fourth quarter
Florida’s defense surrendered seven explosive plays across the Rebels’ four first-half drives.
Ole Miss entered Saturday averaging 37.5 points per game and nearly 500 yards per meeting.
In its opening drive of the second half, Ole Miss was stood up at the goal line. After orchestrating a 15-play series, the Gators forced a turnover on downs at their 1-yard line. Florida held Lacy on consecutive rushes and forced Chambliss to toss errant passes on succeeding plays.
Graham pinned the Rebels inside the 5-yard line on both of Lacy’s failed rush attempts.
Chambliss’ incompletion on fourth down capped off seven plays inside Florida’s 14-yard line.
Despite falling apart down the stretch, Roberts had a quality game plan for his group, specifically in the redzone.
In addition to the failed conversion on fourth down in the opening half, the Gators forced yet another turnover on downs.
Prior to Saturday, the Rebels had failed to convert six times throughout the season. Two came in the 49-0 victory over Citadel.
Ole Miss maintained possession consistently, being on offense for nearly 38 minutes compared to Florida’s 22. The Gators defense generated 85 tackles while the Rebels totaled 43.
“We bounced back [from last week] but it wasn’t enough,” Graham said. “We let them take too much time off the clock running the ball and they had some explosives, and that led to what happened.”
Contact Riley Orovitz at rorovitz@alligator.org. Follow her on X @rileyorovitz.
Riley is a sophomore sports journalism student and is the swim & dive beat reporter for Fall 2025 in her first semester with The Alligator. In her free time, she may be watching past Miami Dolphins or Florida Panthers highlights or hanging out with her friends.
