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 154 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 as he compiled 126 yards and found pay dirt, too.

“Duke played out of his mind,” Sumrall said. “He’s got all the ability in the world. He can be as good as he chooses to be.”

While junior quarterback Aaron Philo did not play his most accurate game, he continued to make smart throws 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.

“Really proud of our guys. Still have a lot to clean up,” Sumrall said. “… That’s the least comfortable I’ve ever seen [Chambliss] look, and he kicked my butt twice as a head coach last year. Watching him today, I thought our guys affected him.”

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.

“We came here to win championships,” he said after the game. “There’s no reason in the world that shouldn’t be the expectation for the University of Florida every year, so why wait? We have a lot of good players … and I’m not real patient.

“Just ask my wife.”

In Buster We Trust(ner)

Working … more to come …

Odds & ends

Florida broke the tie, improving to 14-13-1 all-time against Ole Miss while evening up the series 6-6-1 in The Swamp … the Gators have won four of the last five meetings and not lost at home since 2008 (“The Promise”) … UF has scored 214 points, the most ever for a coach through his first four games and second-most in program history behind the 1996 national championship team (217) … Florida has more games of 50+ points scored in 2026 (three) than it did from 2002-05 (two) … the Gators have scored 40+ points in each of its first four games for the first time since 2001 … Florida’s defense has forced turnovers in 26 of the last 28 games across the last two-plus seasons with multiple takeaways in 19 of those contests … it has allowed opponents to score 21+ points in 12 of the last 13 games dating back to 2025 … Sumrall is the first coach to start his UF career 4-0 since 2015; he was 0-3 against Ole Miss at Troy and Tulane … Sumrall is 3-0 at home and 1-0 against ranked opponents at Florida … the Gators have scored in 477 consecutive games, an NCAA record