Florida Gators at Ole Miss Rebels: drive-by-drive updates, recap

No first down. No score. Game over. Ole Miss fans chanted “We want Lane,” as time expired.

The first play of the drive should have been pass interference, but the officials picked up the flag. On replay, it was clearly a penalty. The pressure up front was too much on second and third down. Another miracle almost happened on fourth down. Lagway launched a deep throw to Sturdivant, it was tipped just out of his reach and Ole Miss got the ball on the four.

Lacy punched it in, and 10 points is too much to overcome at this point.

Ole Miss got all the way to the Florida 3, but Lane Kiffin opted to go for passes on third and fourth down. It’s a miracle stop for the Gators, but they still need a field goal to force overtime.

Florida drove from its own 25 to the Ole Miss 32, thanks to a couple of third-down conversions and a steady run game. KD Daniels got his first touch of the game for a 12-yard gain. Jadan Baugh looked good, as always.

Lagway forced it on third down, though, and a tipped pass went to the hands of an Ole Miss defender. Unfortunate and maybe the dagger. A field goal ties the game, and Florida was in range.

Kewan Lacy is putting Ole Miss on his back. He broke a 59-yard run to put the Rebels back on the goalline and punched it in to take the lead. Lacy has 205 yards and two touchdowns.

Three-and-out for Florida. Lagway is under pressure consistently. At least Doman booted it 62 yards to the Ole Miss 13.

A 19-yard run from Lacy got Ole Miss out of its own red zone, but the Florida defense took over after that. Two sacks forced a punt, and Florida gets it back. Loganza Hayward was a man possessed going after Chambliss.

Tony Livingston ran 36 yards after the catch to open the drive with a 38-yard gain, but Florida stayed out of field goal range because it started on its own two-yard line. Jadan Baugh couldn’t get the six yards needed to move the chain, but Tommy Doman completely flipped the field with a 48-yard punt.

Ole Miss takes over on its own 16.

Florida should have forced a turnover on fourth-and-7 near midfield, but a batted ball went back to Chambliss and led to a first down. Maybe that’s karma for the missed personal foul call earlier.

Chambliss followed up with a 19-yard completion to Cayden Lee, but a facemask moved the Rebels out of the red zone. Chambliss got those yards back with a 17-yard scramble, and Kewan Lacy plowed forward on fourth down to move the chains.

That’s where Ole Miss stopped, though. Florida came up with a massive stop on fourth-and-goal from the two-yard line. Maybe Lane should have taken the points. It’s a close game. Credit to Ron Roberts for dialing up the pressure on defense.

A personal foul penalty after the PAT moved up the kickoff spot, but Ole Miss should have been granted a first down. That’s a break for a Gators team that doesn’t seem to get many.

Lagway and Co. made the most of it. Three chunk plays — a 17-yard run by Baugh, and two catches from TJ Abrams for 29 yards — moved the Gators across midfield and inside the Ole Miss 30. Lagway found Baugh for 10 yards on third down to keep the drive going, but time was running short.

Billy Gonzales used his final timeout a bit early, but it wasn’t a bad call. He opted to kick the field goal on third down and leave three seconds on the clock. Ole Miss did nothing with the squib kick.

As expected, Ole Miss drove down the field. Florida just can’t stop Lacy or the run game, and the Rebels are 4-of-5 on third down this quarter.

Chambliss broke a sack with a mean stiff arm and found Stribling for another touchdown, but there was an illegal man downfield. Phew.

Florida’s defense came up with a big stop after the two-minute warning and forced a field goal. Remember, the Gators won the toss and asked for the ball first, so Ole Miss gets it to start the second half. Time for a two-minute drill.

The pace isn’t slowing down.

Lagway found Hayden Hansen for a short gain with the same throw he missed on the first play of the game. Baugh made it third-and-1 with a five-yard gain, and Lagway pushed the pile forward for the first down. Lagway is taking off up the middle more than ever, partially because of an injury to an Ole Miss defensive tackle.

The first down set up a big-shot opportunity, and Lagway found J. Michael Sturdivant for a 57-yard touchdown.

Ole Miss needed to answer, and Florida let it happen. The Rebels converted on third down — eight yards from Chambliss to Wallace — and on fourth down — 10 yards up the middle from Lacy.

A sack on second down made it third-and-15, but an offsides call wiped away the stop on the following play. Chambliss hit De’Zhaun Stribling for his third catch of the season, and he took it 43 yards to the painted grass.

We officially have a shootout on our hands.

Jadan Baugh got stuffed again (one yard) on first down, but a fortuitous facemask on second down wiped away a sack on Lagway and reset the downs. Baugh got another chance on first down and made good. There was a false start on the point after, but no harm.

Florida has the lead.

We here at Gators Wire never doubted for a second.

One play, one pick. Trinidad Chambliss didn’t see Jayden Woods lurking and threw into his hands. Florida has the ball on the Ole Miss 5 with a chance to tie or take the lead.

Florida was on track for another three-and-out after two plays and one yard, but DJ Lagway found his smile again. He barreled through the middle for a 10-yard gain and hit TJ Abrams in stride down the field for 47 yards.

A tipped pass wiped away a pass interference call, but Lagway took matters into his own hands. Five yards up the gut. Touchdown.

Maybe this will be a game after all?

There aren’t moral victories in SEC football, but maybe there are in games like this.

Ole Miss seemed destined for a 14-0 lead after moving 61 yards on its first three plays of the drive — Kewan Lacy had the big gain with a 41-yard run, slicing through the Florida defense. Trinidad Chambliss tried to keep it twice and took a sack on third down.

Good job, guys?

Another three-and-out for Florida. Why was Billy Gonzales so gung-ho on getting the ball first? This offense can’t handle Ole Miss.

Jadan Baugh was stuffed on first down, DJ Lagway hit J. Michael Sturdivant on a screen pass for five yards on second and Lagway couldn’t scramble his way to the line to gain on third.

Sturdivant deserves credit for the only positive offensive play in the sequence. He caught the ball at the 20 and fought through defenders to make something out of nothing.

Ole Miss is ready to roll. The Rebels opened the drive with a 17-yard completion to Harison Wallace III, Kewan Lacy ran for three yards, and Trinidad Chambliss found Dae’Quan Wright for another first down (16 yards).

Chambliss found Wright again on a dump-off, but the 18-yard gain was called back thanks to a holding penalty. That stalled the drive and led to a fourth down, but Lane Kiffin goes for it on fourth-and-manageable. Good call. Another completion to Wallace moved the chains.

Florida couldn’t make its substitution fast enough, which is a five-yard penalty. Two more first downs set up Lacy on the three-yard line. He dove about two yards and narrowly broke the plane before his forearm hit the ground. Touchdown, a record setter for Lacy — 17 rushing scores this year.

Florida won the toss and wants the ball first.

DJ Lagway was off on his first two throws, leading to a three-and-out. Jadan Baugh bounced off a defender for just three yards up the middle on second down.

So much for starting off hot.