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Good, Bad and Ugly reactions to Florida’s huge upset of Ole Miss in Week 13

Here are Gators Wire’s Good, Bad and Ugly instant reactions to Florida’s massive home upset over Ole Miss.

Florida football pulled off its second-straight upset of a top-25 team — both Southeastern Conference peers, no less — over the Ole Miss Rebels inside Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on Saturday, giving the Gators their sixth win of the 2024 campaign and ostensibly clinching a postseason appearance.

The game was an exciting one from the opening possession, with the two squads matching each other on the scoreboard through the first three quarters. It was in the final 15 minutes that the Orange and Blue made some crucial plays that led to the glorious triumph.

Following the Week 13 win for [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag]’s program, two of the Gators Wire staff offered their takeaways in Good, Bad and Ugly format. Here is what we had to offer.

There is so much good to talk about

GOOD: There is so much good to talk about it’s hard to believe I’m writing about the Florida Gators. [autotag]DJ Lagway[/autotag] has turned this team around, but it’s the running backs who deserve the praise on offense this week. They ran all over an elite run defense and it’s fitting that Montrell Johnson Jr. took in the game-deciding touchdown from the wildcat formation.

On defense, Caleb Banks led the pass rush to force a pair of important turnovers on Ole Miss’ final two drives. Bryce Thronton coming up with two interceptions can’t be overlooked either.

All cylinders are firing for this team and the Gators aren’t even close to healthy.

BAD: Ole Miss burned the secondary for 323 yards through the air, and the Rebels added another 141 yards on just 35 rushes. Holding an elite offensive team under 500 total yards might be a moral victory in some parts of the country, but not in the SEC.

This Gators team can play good defense. They’ve proven that, but it took until the fourth quarter to really see Florida step up on that side of the ball. Better late than never, right?

UGLY: Jaxson Dart in the clutch…. need I say more. Florida didn’t commit any egregious penalties this week and no one stunk it up bad enough to warrant an ugly, so I’m going with the guy who blew his team’s chances at a College Football Playoff spot. — David Rosenberg

Special mention to the running game

GOOD: The Gators scored their second-straight top-25 upset, which earned them win No. 6 and a presumptive bowl berth as a result. The pundits had predicted a 4-8 finish for the Orange and Blue this fall — which was not unfathomable looking at the schedule ahead of the season — and Napier and Co. have bucked that trend.

Special mention to the running game, which totaled 184 yards against a defense that had allowed 79 yards per game coming into the weekend. Lagway was not going to be able to do it all alone, and his running back room came strong for the program.

BAD: Florida’s secondary allowed a lot of yards — 323 in fact on 24 attempts. There were times that Ole Miss looked unstoppable through the air, but the Gators caught a few breaks that mitigated this aspect of the game.

Dart also gained 71 yards on the ground on 14 attempts, which included a 35-yard outburst in the fourth quarter that ended up going for naught. The bend-don’t-break defense broke a bit more than one would prefer, but you cannot argue with the overall outcome.

UGLY: It is hard to pick something for this segment when your team just earned its biggest win of the season and possibly in Napier’s two-plus-year tenure. Allowing Ole Miss to convert two of four fourth-down conversions is not pretty, but one must remember this is one of the best fourth-down teams in the country.

Nothing ugly about a potential winning season for the Gator Nation. — Adam Dubbin

Next up for Florida

The Gators wrap up their 2024 regular season schedule next Saturday in Tallahassee in the annual rivalry game against the Florida State Seminoles. Kickoff is slated for either 7 or 7:30 p.m. ET inside Doak Campbell Stadium and the broadcast details are still to be determined.

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Instant takeaways from Florida’s massive upset win over No. 9 OIe Miss

All aboard the Lane Train… right out of Gainesville. This is Billy Napier’s town, and his Gators delivered a massive upset against Ole Miss Saturday to prove it.

For a second consecutive week, the Florida Gators have upset a ranked opponent in The Swamp. The Orange and Blue took down the No. 9 Ole Miss Rebels, 24-17, to improve their record to 6-5 and secure bowl eligibility.

[autotag]DJ Lagway[/autotag] didn’t need to be the hero, but he still made some incredible throws, including two touchdown passes. The winning score came with senior running back [autotag]Montrell Johnson Jr[/autotag]. under center, though. Johnson lined up in the wildcat formation, faked a handoff and ran nine yards to his right into the endzone.

The remaining 7 minutes and 40 seconds of the contest was thrilling and proved that a depleted Gators secondary was still enough to stop one of the top quarterbacks in the country. Ole Miss signal-caller Jaxson Dart threw two interceptions — both secured by safety Bryce Thornton — to squash the Rebels’ chances to make the College Football Playoff.

The victory is, without a doubt, the best win of the [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] era and perhaps the best win since Kyle Trask was leading the glory year under Dan Mullen.

Florida is back!

The Billy Napier era has been filled with disappointment and uneasiness, but no longer is the future dim for the Florida Gators. The emergence of [autotag]DJ Lagway[/autotag] and the miraculous improvement of the defensive, at various levels, over the course of the season provides a path for Napier to not only stay on board for another season but perhaps thrive in Gainesville.

Lagway is a Heisman candidate moving forward, and he hasn’t even played with a fully healthy Eugene Wilson III. Replacing veteran receivers like [autotag]Elijhah Badger[/autotag] and [autotag]Chimere Dike[/autotag] won’t be easy, but there’s going to be a lot of interest from the big names in the transfer portal.

On defense, Gerald Chatman has transformed the line. [autotag]Caleb Banks[/autotag] looks like a future high-round pick, [autotag]Tyreak Sapp[/autotag] is dominating on the edge and [autotag]Cam Jackson[/autotag] is the anchor up front that Florida has needed all year. The pressure created, especially once Ole Miss center Reece McIntyre went down, forced Dart to make mistakes and an underestimated Gators secondary came up big in the waning minutes of the fourth quarter.

It’s hard not to be excited about what this team can do moving forward, and the dark cloud that’s hung over The Swamp for the past three years seems to be finally fading.

Great day for the RBs

Coming into this matchup, Ole Miss had the second-best run defense in the country. The Rebels allowed just 79.9 rushing yards per game and held opposing running backs to just 2.23 yards per carry.

Napier and his staff didn’t care about any of those numbers, though. The game plan was to run the ball early and often, and it worked like a charm. Florida’s three-headed monster in the backfield totaled a combined 174 yards on 39 carries, averaging 4.46 yards per carry — double the season average allowed by Ole Miss.

Johnson was the primary back in this one, rushing for 107 yards and the wildcat touchdown on 18 attempts, but Baugh flashed his talents with 46 yards on 13 rushes. [autotag]Ja’Kobi Jackson[/autotag], Florida’s JUCO gem, added 21 yards on eight carries.

Baugh and Jackson will be back next year to lead Florida’s running backs room, and Johnson will likely turn to pro now that he’s out of eligibility.

It’s been an injury-riddled year for Johnson, who had minor knee surgery during the preseason and missed a few games as the quarterback transition from Graham Mertz to Lagway took place, but he came back at the perfect time. Florida doesn’t win this game without him.

‘Next man up’ mentality prevails

Florida has dealt with a number of injuries this season and came into this game down its top three cornerbacks, a starting linebacker and safety. But that doesn’t matter when the entire team is repeating the line “next man up” at every opportunity in front of the media.

Banks is the breakout star over the last two weeks. He looks like an NFL-ready defensive lineman at times and racked up 2.5 sacks and 3.5 tackles for loss against Ole Miss. Sapp is the heart and soul of the front seven, and [autotag]Shemar James[/autotag] is another leader at the second level of the defense.

Thornton’s two interceptions were the most timely turnovers of the year for Florida, and the secondary has been held together by Trikweze Bridges’ position versatility as he moves from safety to cornerback.

[autotag]Sharif Denson[/autotag] deserves praise for delivering hit after hit, many of which came against runners in the open field, and [autotag]Jordan Castell[/autotag] is finally playing like he did during his freshman year — talk about a big hit to start the game.

This defense could have folded weeks, if not months, ago, but they didn’t. Austin Armstrong, Napier and Ron Roberts all deserve praise for keeping these guys focused through a tremendous amount of adversity throughout the season.

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ESPN College Gameday/SEC Nation pick Ole Miss over Florida

The ESPN College Gameday and SEC Nation crews praised Billy Napier and the Florida Gators for improving but unanimously picked Ole Miss to win on Saturday.

The ESPN College Gameday and SEC Nation crews unanimously picked Ole Miss to defeat Florida on Saturday.

“I love the job [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] has done at Florida. I think he’s done a great job of keeping this team focused through some really difficult circumstances, I just think Ole Miss has got too much firepower for them,” Nick Saban said. “But I think it’s going to be a close game.”

Napier joined the Gameday crew in the 9 o’clock block. He talked [autotag]DJ Lagway[/autotag]’s positive impact on the younger players and their mentality. Napier also addressed what he believes to be the biggest key to the game.

“You’ve got to survive the script,” Napier said. “It’s important that you’re ready to start fast. You’ve got to get the call in, get our cleats in the ground. We’ve got to get communicated, aligned, play with the right leverage, have good eye discipline. If you can get through the script and settle in, adjust to the tempo, I think it’s important.”

Pat McAfee challenged Billy Napier to a 35-yard throw, where he would donate $1 million to hurricane relief if Napier hit the crossbar. Coach Napier put a good spiral on it but just missed the crossbar. Kirk Herbstreit tried to get a second attempt, but McAfee quickly waved it off after seeing how close Napier was.

Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin later texted Herbstreit, poking fun at Napier and saying he would have hit the crossbar.

SEC Nation picks Florida-Ole Miss

All four pickers on SEC Nation — former Alabama safety Roman Harper, former Vanderbilt quarterback Jordan Rodgers, Florida legend Tim Tebow and SEC insider Paul Finebaum — picked Ole Miss but agreed that Florida is playing its best football of the season and could keep it close.

“I think Florida is improving,” Tebow said. “I think playing at home is so helpful. I think DJ is on the verge of being a star. I just think this is the right time for Ole Miss. I think they’re peaking. I think they have their best player back (Tre Harris), their front four has been dominating the last few weeks, there healthy. I think it will be close but the Rebels will be good enough.”

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CBS Sports’ pick for Florida-Ole Miss in Week 13

CBS Sports writer Brandon Marcello offered his picks for the Southeastern Conference’s slate of games, including the Gators-Rebels matchup.

Kickoff between the Florida Gators and Ole Miss Rebels inside Ben Hill Griffin Stadium is just a few hours away. The Week 13 college football matchup is a bit one for both schools with postseason aspirations on the line.

Ahead of the penultimate weekend of the 2024 regular season, CBS Sports writer Brandon Marcello offered his picks for the Southeastern Conference’s slate of games, including the Gators-Rebels matchup.

“Florida has been playing much better since September, even as it dealt with debilitating injuries at quarterback,” Marcello begins. “With [autotag]DJ Lagway[/autotag] back on the field, the Gators suddenly seem to be a threat to potentially knock off Ole Miss, a playoff hopeful that drilled Georgia two weeks ago. The Gators are nearly 90 yards per game better on defense at home, and last week they held LSU to 4.1 yards per play, their best performance against an FBS team this season.

“Ole Miss, however, seems to have cut back on the mistakes at inopportune times and the offense is clicking again, averaging 7.6 yards per game, the second-best average in the country behind Miami, which blew out the Gators at home in their season opener,” he continues. “Florida is better than it was in September and will show up again Saturday, but the Rebels’ defense has been on a tear (22 sacks in the last three games) and wins by a score.”

Marcello picks Florida at plus-10.5.

How to watch Florida-Ole Miss

The Gators play their final home game of the season against Ole Miss on Saturday, Nov. 23. Kickoff is set for noon ET and will be broadcast on ABC.

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Florida jumps up four spots in The Athletic’s SEC vibe check rankings

The vibes are trending up for Florida after a big upset win over LSU in Week 12, and The Athletic agrees.

The curse of Marco Wilson came to an end on Saturday when the Florida Gators defeated the LSU Tigers for the first time since 2018, and bowl eligibility appears almost certain for the Orange and Blue with Florida State still on the schedule.

The vibes in Gainesville are sky-high, so much so that The Athletic’s Seth Emerson was forced to move the Gators up four spots to No. 8 in his weekly vibe check rankings.

“A good case can be made for putting the Gators even higher,” Emerson wrote. “They’re playing well enough now that Ole Miss is on upset watch. And the trip to Florida State looks to be close to a gimme at this point. [autotag]DJ Lagway[/autotag] looks like the real deal. [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] is doing just enough to provide hope.

“Should Florida feel great about the overall future of the program? Eh, we’re not there yet. But should it feel much better than it did early in the season? Quite obviously.”

The future appears very bright for the Gators with Lagway at the helm, regardless of what Emerson thinks. There’s Heisman potential under center at Florida, and he’s still just a freshman. A win over Ole Miss next week would vault the Gators even further up these rankings and put a four-game win streak to close out 2024 on the table.

Week 11 SEC vibe check rankings

South Carolina Gamecocks (7-3, 5-3)
Ole Miss Rebels (8-2, 4-2 SEC)
Alabama Crimson Tide (8-2, 4-2)
Georgia Bulldogs (8-2, 6-2)
Texas Longhorns (9-1, 5-1)
Vanderbilt Commodores (6-4, 3-3)
Texas A&M Aggies (8-2, 5-1)
Florida Gators (5-5, 3-4)
Tennessee Volunteers (8-2, 5-2)
Missouri Tigers (7-3, 3-3)
Arkansas Razorbacks (5-5, 34)
Oklahoma Sooners (5-5, 1-5)
Auburn Tigers (4-6, 1-5)
Mississippi State Bulldogs (2-8, 0-6)
Kentucky Wildcats (4-6, 1-6)
LSU Tigers (6-4, 3-3)

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DJ Lagway leads trio of Gators who earned SEC weekly honors vs. LSU

A trio of Florida Gators, headlined by true freshman quarterback DJ Lagway, earned SEC Player of the Week honors after beating LSU.

The Southeastern Conference office honored three Florida Gators with Players of the Week awards after a 27-16 upset win against LSU on Saturday.

True freshman quarterback [autotag]DJ Lagway[/autotag] got the nod for Freshman of the Week, linebacker [autotag]Shemar James[/autotag] was named a Co-Defensive Player of the Week and kicker [autotag]Trey Smack[/autotag] was named a Co-Special Teams Player of the Week.

Lagway led the offense to a 27-point outburst, including two scoring drives in the final quarter of the contest. He completed 13 of 26 passes for 226 yards and a touchdown, finding senior Elijhah Badger six times for 131 yards and the score.

Lagway’s final connection with Badger, a 36-yard gain that involved him stepping up in the pocket to evade two defenders and throwing while on the run, set up the go-ahead touchdown run from Ja’Kobi Jackson, and he found Hayden Hansen for 19 yards just before Jadan Baugh broke a 55-yard score to put the game away.

James led all defenders with 11 total tackles (five solo), two sacks and two pass breakups, all of which are career highs. He is the only defender to record two sacks against LSU this season and led the defense to a 7-sack performance against a Tigers offensive line that had only allowed six all year.

Smack hit two long field goals to keep Florida within reach of LSU. The first came in the second quarter from 49 yards out to take a 10-7 lead, and the second set a new career-long at 55 yards to tie the game at 13. He was perfect on three point-after-touchdown attempts, bringing his season total to 34 of 34.

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CBS Sports includes Florida in bowl projections after LSU upset

With Florida just one win away from becoming bowl eligible, CBS Sports’ Jerry Palm has included the Gators in his latest bowl predictions update.

Florida’s path to a bowl game has been in doubt all season long, but an upset win over the LSU Tigers on Saturday has the Gators just one win away from securing bowl eligibility.

As a result, CBS Sports’ Jerry Palm has included the Orange and Blue in its post-Week 12 bowl predictions. Palm projects Florida to matchup with Arizona State in the Las Vegas Bowl on Dec. 27 at 10:30 p.m. ET.

Should that prediction come true, it would provide Billy Napier and the Gators a chance at redemption after falling, 30-3, against the Oregon State Beavers in the 2022 Las Vegas Bowl. Adam Mihalek’s fourth-quarter field goal kept Florida’s now 458-game scoring streak alive, but the rest of the game was a complete disappointment.

The Gators finished the 2023 season 5-7 and failed to reach bowl eligibility, so any postseason appearance would be a sign of improvement for Napier and Co. Of course, Florida must win one of its final two games against Ole Miss and Florida State to reach the six-win mark.

Florida is projected to beat a 1-9 Florida State team in the regular-season finale, especially with true freshman quarterback [autotag]DJ Lagway[/autotag] back in the fold.

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Gators bounce back in ESPN’s SP+ rankings after LSU victory

Florida sits just outside the top 30 in ESPN’s SP+ rankings after beating LSU.

The football gods smiled on the Florida Gators on Saturday, when they upset the then-22nd-ranked LSU Tigers in the Swamp, 27-16. The win opens the door for a postseason appearance with just two games remaining on the fall slate.

While it was not a perfect performance, the Orange and Blue got a complete effort from all three corps — offense, defense and special teams. The program got a huge boost with the return of [autotag]DJ Lagway[/autotag] under center, who made some key plays down the stretch.

The SEC rivalry win gives Florida a tidy boost in many of the media’s standings despite still receiving no votes in the US LBM Coaches Poll and AP Poll. They did move up in Bill Connelly’s ESPN SP+ rankings, however.

Florida football’s SP+ ranking, rating

Following the victory inside Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Connelly’s rankings moved the Gators up from No. 39 last week out of 134 Football Bowl Subdivision schools with a 6.9 overall rating to No. 31 with a 9.0 rating. That puts Billy Napier’s squad between the No. 30 North Carolina Tar Heels and No. 32 Army Black Knights.

On offense, the team remained at No. 33 while the rating rose from 31.6 to 32.3. The defense gained some ground in the rankings, moving up from No. 49 to No. 43; however, the rating fell from 25.0 to 23.7.

The special teams unit, which spent a few weeks as the top-rated corps in the country at the start of the schedule, earned back the 0.1 points they lost last week while moving up from No. 25 to No. 12 with a 0.4 rating.

SP+ rankings top 10 teams

The Ohio State Buckeyes maintain the top spot in the rankings for the third straight week, while the Alabama Crimson Tide leapfrogged the Texas Longhorns to take over the second spot; the Ole Miss Rebels and Oregon Ducks round out the rest of the top five.

The Georgia Bulldogs held onto their No. 6 spot, followed by the Penn State Nittany Lions and Notre Dame Fighting Irish — who swapped the seventh and eighth spots, respectively. The Miami Hurricanes and Tennessee Volunteers also switched places for the ninth and tenth spots respectively.

About SP+ predictions

“SP+ is intended to be predictive and forward-facing,” according to ESPN. “It is not a résumé ranking that gives credit for big wins or particularly brave scheduling — no good predictive system is.

“It is simply a measure of the most sustainable and predictable aspects of football. If you’re lucky or unimpressive in a win, your rating will probably fall. If you’re strong and unlucky in a loss, it will probably rise.”

Up next for the Gators

The Gators play their final home game of the season against the Ole Miss Rebels on Saturday, Nov. 23. Kickoff is set for noon ET and will be broadcast on ABC.

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Four-star QB Tramell Jones flips to Florida during official visit

Just days after decommitting from the Florida State Seminoles, four-star quarterback Tramell Jones has flipped to the University of Florida, bolstering the Gators’ 2025 recruiting class.

Three days after de-committing from Florida State, Mandarin (Jacksonville) quarterback [autotag]Tramell Jones[/autotag] has flipped to the Florida Gators.

Jones was in Gainesville over the weekend to see the Gators upset the LSU Tigers in the Swamp, and he got to spend time with true freshman quarterback [autotag]DJ Lagway[/autotag].

“I’d say the highlight of the weekend was of course was being in the Swamp, but also being able to spend that time with DJ (Lagway) and all the other players,” Jones said to On3’s Keith Niebuhr. “I wanted to see what the atmosphere and culture was with them, getting to see how they felt about the season, getting to see how they are outside of football.”

Jones initially said he’d take a couple of days to consider his options, but he flipped to the Orange and Blue before the weekend came to a close. He’s also considering another visit to Florida for the Ole Miss game next weekend.

Fellow Florida commit [autotag]Vernell Brown III[/autotag] played 7-on-7 with Jones over the summer, and he plays high school ball with five-star Texas receiver commit Jaime Ffrench. Jones is also close with Florida State offensive line commit Solomon Thomas, who expressed some displeasure after his position coach was let go in a recent wave of changes on the Seminoles’ coaching staff. Both Ffrench and Thomas were on campus Saturday.

Recruiting Summary

Jones is a four-star recruit by ESPN and Rivals’ measure and earns a three-star rating from 247Sports and On3; however, the 247Sports composite and On3 industry ranking both grant him four-star status.

The 247Sports composite ranks him No. 238 overall and No. 21 among quarterbacks in the class of 2025, while the On3 industry ranking has him at Nos. 247 and 21, respectively.

“Experienced signal caller with cleaner mechanics that has improved in every key statistical category since earning the starting nod as a freshman on varsity,” wrote 247Sports director of scouting Andrew Ivins in a February report. “More of a one-read passer at this stage that will feed his playmakers and throw them open. Gets the ball out quick with a compact, repeatable motion and tends to utilize more touch than he does velocity.”

Florida jumped up 12 places on the 247Sports composite team rankings to No. 33 following Jones’ commitment.

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How Florida football’s thrilling victory over LSU is reshaping the Gators future

The Gators win over LSU wasn’t just a game—it was a statement, and it could be the turning point Billy Napier has been waiting for.

Florida’s electrifying win over the LSU Tigers wasn’t just another game—it was a turning point for a program striving to reclaim its glory days.

For Gator Nation and players alike, the win represented a lot more than a mark in the win column. It demonstrated the grit, determination and belief that this Florida football program is heading in the right direction under head coach Billy Napier.

For Napier, the win acted as a validation of the work being put in behind the scenes in practices and film studies.

“Look, I think the big thing is just you’ve got to compliment our players and staff just for staying the course,” Napier said after the game. “I mean, it’s no easy task to keep focused on the work in front of you and be present.”

The Gators skipper shared a unique motivational strategy used throughout the week to keep players locked in.

“We talked all week about working as if we’re on a one-day contract,” Napier stated. “And every day, hey, look, if we’re watching you the entire day and evaluating how you work, would you get the call back for the next day?”

Napier continued, “And I think they took that personal, and I think that we had a good day every day of the week. I thought we built momentum to the end of the week. And certainly they played that way with that type of attitude tonight.”

Freshman quarterback DJ Lagway played well in his return from injury, throwing for 226 yards and a touchdown. Lagway said after the game that the team is determined to turn this program around.

“Just having the guys rally behind that and truly like we’re going to change this,” Lagway said. “And that’s the whole vibe in the locker room, that we’re going to change this place and we’re going to make it what it used to be.”

Lagway’s words resonate with a fan base hungry for success and a return to the dominance that once defined Florida football. He also didn’t shy away from highlighting what makes Florida stand out to recruits.

“My kind of response to that is we’ve got the best fan base in the country,” Lagway said. “We’ve got coaches that care and that’s going to develop you, make you a better player and person on and off the field. So that’s kind of how I see it.”

For Lagway, Napier and the entire Gators football program, the win over LSU was a sign that Florida can be, in fact, on the rise. Florida’s triumph wasn’t just a win—it was a statement. And the message is clear: The Gators are building something special in Gainesville.

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