The Florida Gators dropped to 3-7 (2-5 SEC) on the 2025 season after a 34-24 loss to No.7 Ole Miss in week 12. With the loss, Florida won’t be eligible for a bowl game. Gator Country provides five early takeaways from the contest.
Florida competed until the end
After going down 10-0 in the first quarter, you could almost hear the ‘here we go again’ sighs from Gator fans across the country. It looked eerily similar to last week’s blowout loss to Kentucky. But that wasn’t the case as Florida battled back and made the game competitive until the very end. There were four lead changes throughout the game and the Gators had a drive down three points with 2:40 to play. There’s no moral victories in this sport, especially not at a place like Florida, but it was nice to see the Gators compete after last week’s disaster.
Gators couldn’t stop Kewan Lacy
Rebels’ sophomore running back Kewan Lacy entered the contest as one of the best running backs in the country and he showed why on Saturday night. Lacy ran for a career high 224 yards while tying his high in touchdowns with three. Florida’s inability to stop the run allowed Ole Miss to control the ball for nearly 38 minutes in the contest. Ole Miss ran a stunning 83 plays on offense and punted just one time.
Offense disappears in second half
The Gators led 24-20 at halftime after a productive first half offensively, totaling 222 yards including 155 passing yards from sophomore quarterback DJ Lagway. Florida connected on two significant chunk plays: a 47 yard pass to TJ Abrams and a 57 yard touchdown to J.Michael Sturdivant.
However, Florida was blanked in the second half and managed just 103 yards of offense including 63 passing yards. The fourth quarter struggles continue as the Gators were outscored 14-0 in the final 15 minutes. Seven of Florida’s nine games against FBS competition have been a one score game in the fourth quarter (LSU), yet Florida holds just a 2-7 record. It’s the third time Florida has led in the fourth quarter and lost this season.
Goal line defense kept Florida in the game
Florida’s defense was beat soundly for 528 yards from the Ole Miss offense on Saturday night, but they did come away with four critical goal line stops to keep themselves in the game. In the first quarter, the Gators held Ole Miss to a field goal after a third down sack from Myles Graham at the nine yard line. Florida held Ole Miss to another field goal in the second quarter after an incompletion in the end zone.
In the second half on a first and goal from the four, Ole Miss failed to score and turned it over on downs. Same thing happened on the Rebels’ final possession, giving the Gators’ offense a chance to tie or win the game with 2:40 left to play. It was a far from perfect showing, but the Gators’ defense made enough stops to pull off the upset. You simply can’t go scoreless in the second half and expect to knock off an explosive top 10 team on the road.
Ole Miss won the battle; did Florida win the war?
The Rebels were able to hold off a three win Gators team in Oxford. A huge win that puts them in the drivers seat for a playoff spot. But the future for both of these programs are in question given the Lane Kiffin buzz surrounding Florida’s head coaching vacancy. Who gets the last laugh? Time will tell.