Ole Miss rides second-half shutout, Kewan Lacy’s record night in crucial win over Florida

OXFORD, Miss. — Ole Miss took away a crucial 34-24 victory over the Florida Gators at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium Saturday night in Oxford. With the win, the Rebels are now sitting at 10-1 overall, 6-1 in the SEC, and have a legitimate shot at a berth in the college football playoffs.

In the game, Kewan Lacy scored three rushing touchdowns and broke the school’s single-season touchdown record, notching his 17th, 18th, and 19th touchdowns on the season in the win.

Lacy has been a force this season for Ole Miss, as he has once again set a career high in rushing yards in a game. Against the Gators (3-7, 2-5 SEC), Lacy recorded 224 yards on the ground.

First Half

After winning the toss, Florida opened the game with possession; however, two incompletions and a run play stuffed at the line forced the Gators to go three-and-out, punting the ball to Ole Miss for their first drive.

The Rebels opened their day offensively with a meticulous drive which concluded with Kewan Lacy diving over the goal line for his 17th touchdown 0f the season, giving him the Ole Miss single season rushing touchdown record.

THE RECORD BREAKING TOUCHDOWN 👑 https://t.co/ZEEBqq12fk pic.twitter.com/FFcghSkIf1

— Ole Miss Football (@OleMissFB) November 16, 2025

Ole Miss once again held the Gators to a three-and-out, then drove themselves all the way down inside the 10-yard line before stalling out and settling for three as Lucas Carneiro converted a 27-yard field goal that extended the Ole Miss lead to 10 with just under four minutes remaining in the first quarter.

The Gators eventually put together a long drive, putting themselves in the red zone after quarterback DJ Lagway scrambled for a 10-yard gain before a 47-yard pass put Florida at the Ole Miss 17-yard line.

From there, the Gators inched forward with Lagway capping off the drive with a 5-yard rushing touchdown that cut the deficit to three with 1:13 left in the first quarter.

Before Ole Miss could even think about responding, Trinidad Chambliss threw his third interception of the season that was returned to the Ole Miss 5-yard line.

Ole Miss’ defense was holding strong as Kam Franklin broke into the backfield on 2nd and 4 for a sack, but a face mask penalty on Franklin not only negated his sack, but gave the Gators a fresh set of downs from the 2-yard line and drew the clock to the end of the first.

The Gators took advantage of the penalty and long break in between quarters as Jadan Baugh rushed into the end zone to give the Gators a 14-10 lead early in the second.

Ole Miss bounced back on the following drive with some help from a 3rd and 15 offsides penalty on Florida. The Rebels capitalized on the following play as Chambliss found De’Zhaun Stribling on a crossing route and Stribling outran the defense for a 43-yard catch-and-run touchdown to reinstate the Ole Miss lead.

STRIBLING STUMBLIN’ INTO THE END ZONE 🫨@Dezhaunthegreat x #HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/CPK6SpAVTE

— Ole Miss Football (@OleMissFB) November 16, 2025

However, that score advantage did not last long for Ole Miss as the back and forth continued.

Lagway and the Gators notched a 5-play, 75-yard scoring drive as Lagway found Michael Sturdivant for 57 yard catch and run touchdown for the fourth lead change of the half.

Ole Miss once again found itself inside the Gators’ 1- yard line, but after an illegal man downfield penalty negated Chambliss to Stribling’s second consecutive touchdown drive, Ole Miss had to settle for three again with Carneiro putting it through to cut the deficit to one with 1:52 left on the clock.

Florida concluded the half with a long drive, finding themselves at the Rebels’ 20-yard line after a false start penalty. With the Gators not having any timeouts remaining, they sent out the field goal unit on 3rd and 7 with seven seconds remaining. Trey Smack sent the 37-yard attempt through the uprights, giving Florida a 24-20 lead with 0:03 remaining in the half.

Second Half

Ole Miss possessed the ball first in the second half, and after almost 8 minutes the Rebels’ drive concluded with a missed screen pass on fourth and goal from the 2-yard line, and the home team turned the ball over on downs.

The Gators began their drive with a 38-yard catch-and-run, but quickly stalled out, punting it back to Ole Miss and keeping the game at 24-20 in favor of the Gators.

The offenses went stagnant in the third quarter with neither team changing the board, finishing the third with the same 24-2o Florida lead.

This changed on the first play of the fourth period as Kewan Lacy tallied his second touchdown of the day after ending the third quarter with a 59-yard rush that put the Rebels at the 1-yard line.

ON THE MOVEEEEEEE ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/65RNfSFLG8

— Ole Miss Football (@OleMissFB) November 16, 2025

Lacy’s explosive drive gave the Rebels a 27-24 lead with just three seconds gone in the final 15 minutes.

FREEWAY TO THE ENDZONE 🏎️ pic.twitter.com/64atFU4sa6

— Ole Miss Football (@OleMissFB) November 16, 2025

Florida was in the midst of a much-needed response, but Suntarine Perkins made a great defensive play, switching from coverage to pressure, tipping a pass which was then intercepted by Wydett Williams Jr with just over eight minutes to play in the game.

We’ll take THAT 🥱@WilliamsWydett x @suntarine pic.twitter.com/mhnVoSb3ir

— Ole Miss Football (@OleMissFB) November 16, 2025

Prior to the interception, the Gators were at the Rebels’ 30 yard line — well into field goal range.

Ole Miss pushed for the pull-away score, but on fourth and goal from the 3-yard line the Rebels were once again unable to produce a much-needed score.

However, the defense held firm with a four-and-out stop, including Princewill Umanmielen coming away with a 2-yard sack of DJ Lagway on third down that ignited the Vaught-Hemingway crowd.

HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS 👑@hoodiiewill pic.twitter.com/VPm18rJUDt

— Ole Miss Football (@OleMissFB) November 16, 2025

The following play, Lagway looked deep but a tipped pass just out of the reach of Sturdivant gave Ole Miss possession on a turnover on downs inside the Gators’ five-yard line.

It took just one play for Ole Miss to capitalize on that field position as Lacy pounced into the end zone for the third time on the night to give the Rebels a 34-24 lead, where it would stand for the rest of the night.

Kewan Lacy…AGAIN 🤷‍♂️ pic.twitter.com/XB4ap4HArA

— Ole Miss Football (@OleMissFB) November 16, 2025

Florida had one more go offensively, but the Ole Miss defense stood tall once more, clinching the victory.

A Look Ahead

Ole Miss will return to the gridiron in just under two weeks as the Rebels travel to Starkville to take on the Mississippi State Bulldogs in the annual Egg Bowl rivalry game.