5 winners and 2 losers from Florida Gators’ blowout win vs. Ole Miss Rebels that proves they are National Championship contenders
The Gators put up 498 yards and dominated in all three phases, and there are some fascinating takeaways from the blowout win.
The Florida Gators woke up the entire nation on Saturday when they defeated the Ole Miss Rebels by a score of 52 to 28. The game was never close and, even though head coach Jon Sumrall said “there’s a lot of good drugs out there” with the Gators being favored, they proved it wasn’t a fluke.
While Ole Miss was able to get within three on a couple of occasions in the second half, it never felt like the Rebels were seriously taking control. Florida ran away with it in the end. Looking back at the game as a whole, a few different winners and losers stand out in the Gators’ statement victory.
Winner: Run game
Offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner has done a phenomenal job of getting players in position to make plays, and those players are making them. Jadan Baugh continues to be one of the best players in college football, expanding his Heisman Trophy candidacy with a 29-carry, 142-yard, three-touchdown performance.
He wasn’t the only one, either. Duke Clark ran for 126 yards on just 12 carries with a 45-yard touchdown. The redshirt freshman has proven he’s a starting-caliber player in college football, and the Gators having two players like that has been a huge boon for them.
Winner: Offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner
When you talk about the resurgence of the Gators, you can talk about Sumrall; you can talk about the culture, and both of those things are true. The biggest reason why Florida has been able to take this step is the offensive coordinator. After putting up 495-plus yards in each of the first three games of the season, Faulkner had his magnum opus against an Ole Miss team that shut down the Rebels’ offense for a majority of the game.
On Saturday, the Gators were two yards short of 500, putting up 498 yards and 52 total points. The most impressive element of Faulkner’s offense isn’t the fact that they’re able to run the ball. It’s how creatively he gets to all these different concepts, especially how Faulkner will use motion and leverage to his advantage in a multitude of ways. There is a lot of talent for the Gators, and he is elevating it to a different level. The way things are going, Faulkner’s only going to be around for a year, but that year could result in a national championship for Florida.
Loser: Discipline
Sumrall has done a fantastic job throughout the course of his tenure so far in Florida, but the lack of discipline with any kind of consistency for this team has been a problem. Eight penalties for 92 yards, including a sequence in the first half where they had four penalties within around a five-minute span. They need to find a way to clean that up quickly, because as much as we want to believe the offense is going to put up 40 to 50 points a game every single week, they’re going to have a down week one of these days. They can’t put themselves in poor positions as they have been.
Winner: QB Aaron Philo
Aaron Philo doesn’t have the amount of arm talent you expect from a quarterback playing at this high of a level. He does not have the drive of the football that you want to see, nor is he an elite player from an athleticism perspective. However, he has everything you want between the ears, and he is continuing to lead this program to success.
Philo finished the game 16 of 23 for 196 yards and a touchdown. He also contributed on the ground in multiple scenarios, running quarterback draws, and scored a rushing touchdown as well. What has been really impressive has been his pocket presence, never panicking and staying composed. He is the guy to lead this program to the next level, and Florida made a great choice by investing in him over another transfer portal quarterback.
Winner: Run defense
The Ole Miss attack was limited without Kewan Lacy missing the game, but this Rebels offense does a fantastic job of isolating players in certain concepts and creating opportunities for chunk yards. The Gators were able to contain that, allowing only 128 yards on 27 carries. Trinidad Chambliss on seven carries was the Rebels’ leading rusher at a paltry 44 yards. Ole Miss was unable to get anything sustained consistently on the ground, and it showed in a big way because they had to default to the pass very quickly.
Loser: Secondary
The secondary was expected to be the weakest part of the defense. The front seven was strong, especially on the defensive front and the linebackers led by Myles Graham. However, there were questions about how good the secondary would be, especially at corner. Ben Hanks III had a couple of rough moments, and Cormani McClain got torched on a double move early in the second half.
There’s going to be some variance with this secondary, but they are still making plays. They had a couple nice pass breakups, and D.J. Coleman grabbed an interception at the end of the game. There are going to be some issues with that position group overall, but if Florida can continue to get pressure like they did against Auburn and like they did against Chambliss on Saturday, they can still make waves defensively.
Winner: Return game
The Gators might have the best return game in the country. Vernell Brown III had two return touchdowns, including one against Campbell on a punt return, which exposed us to how good this unit can be. On Saturday afternoon, London Montgomery set the Gators up in a big way early in the second half with a 74-yard return, finishing the day with 128 return yards. Bailey Stockton, late in the second half, had a nice 16-yard return where he was able to get the edge and eat up some yards, which led to a Florida touchdown. If the Gators can continue to set themselves up with that kind of success in the return game, it will massively help elevate the special teams unit and support the offense.
