No. 7 Ole Miss entered the home locker room Saturday trailing Florida 24-20 at halftime, and an incorrectly assessed penalty didn’t help matters for the Rebels.
Down 21-17 with just under two minutes remaining in the first half, Ole Miss kicker Lucas Carneiro converted a 27-yard field goal on fourth-and-6 to cut the deficit to 1. Florida was flagged for an illegal hands to the face personal foul on the play, but the officials deemed it a dead-ball flag, with the yardage enforced on the ensuing kickoff.
However, multiple replays showed that the penalty clearly occurred before the kicked ball hit the net behind the goal posts, which marks the official end of the play. The flag should have resulted in an automatic first down that extended the drive with a goal-to-go set of downs.
“The play does not stop until the ball hits the net, and the ball has not hit the net yet when the foul occurred,” ESPN rules analyst Jerry McGinn explained after the play. “So this should have been a live-ball foul, which would have given Ole Miss a first down.”
The television broadcast showed Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin arguing intensely with officials after the play. Florida added a field goal just before halftime to push the margin back to four.
Kiffin made some pointed comments to ESPN sideline reporter Kris Budden about the missed call before exiting the field.
“It’s just really disappointing to have communication with the refs. They come over, try to get it right. The hands to the face is during the play, then let’s just get it right. It’s not that hard,” Kiffin said during the on-field interview. “That’s just really discouraging to have that much time to talk about it — and they admit they’re wrong now, so what good does that do?”
“Let’s just get it right, it’s not that hard.”
Lane Kiffin is frustrated with how the first half went 😬 pic.twitter.com/zARRcHPyn6
— ESPN (@espn) November 16, 2025
There were also subsequent reports that Kiffin used even stronger language while on the air with the Ole Miss Radio Network before entering the halftime locker room, with Ole Miss reporter Brad Logan tweeting that Kiffin stated: “Disappointed with our defense. And then the refs f— us. … They were wrong!”
“Disappointed with our defense. And then the refs fuck us.”
“They were wrong!”
-Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin on the Ole Miss Network
— Brad Logan (@BradLoganCOTE) November 16, 2025
Even with the missed call, the Gators played well, scoring on four straight drives to end the half after a pair of three-and-outs to start the game. Quarterback DJ Lagway, who was benched in a loss to Kentucky last week, looked much sharper, helping Florida go 4-for-6 on third downs and average 7.2 yards per play in the first half.
Ole Miss (9-1, 5-1 SEC) entered the game with a 96 percent chance of reaching the College Football Playoff, according to The Athletic’s projection model. Florida (3-6, 2-4 SEC) has gone 0-2 under interim coach Billy Gonzales since head coach Billy Napier was fired, but it was an unexpected upset win by the Gators in Gainesville last season that ultimately spoiled the Rebels’ chance at a 2024 Playoff spot.
The red zone struggles continued for Ole Miss on the first possession of the third quarter, when a 15-play drive stalled at the 2-yard line on a failed fourth-down attempt, turning it over on downs back to the Gators.