Last week was a movie. I could’ve lived without the third quarter but it made the ending so much sweeter. While the Rebels in real life pulled off an eight point dub, EA Sports simulated a three point victory for Ole Miss 48-45. A win is a win and now it’s on to the next.
The books opened with Florida as 1.5 point favorite and it has seemingly settled around 3. Essentially it’s a push and I am really not sure why. The best player in college football plays for the Rebels and the opposing pass defense
is not great. That’s why the game is played on the field and not paper (even though on paper Ole Miss should still be favored).
Let’s see what the CFB27 simulation thinks.
1st Quarter
The Rebels wasted no time in this one. The Swamp might’ve been juiced because Florida is finally ranked again, but they got real quiet, real quick as Trinidad Chambliss marched Ole Miss down the field with an opening touchdown pass to Luke Hasz from 14 yards out. After a quick three-and-out by the Ole Miss defense, Kewan Lacy broke off a 54 yard touchdown run, putting the Rebs up 14-0 quick, fast and in a hurry. The Gators were able to settle in on their second drive, mainly behind Jadan Baugh. He matched Lacy’s 54 yard score with one of his own. The Ole Miss offense did what its done all year… answer back. Chambliss hit Deuce Alexander for a 64 yard bomb to cap the high scoring, opening quarter.
End of 1: Ole Miss 21 Florida 7
2nd Quarter
Back-to-back sacks on second and third down by Jonathan Maldonado forced the Gators to punt the ball right back to the Rebels. The Deuce was loose again as he and Chambliss connected for their second score of the contest leading to a 28-7 lead. Evan Pryor was able to break off a 24 yard run into the endzone for the Gators, but any time left on the clock is too much time for “Winidad.” The Heisman frontrunner led another drive down the field late in the half and connected with Horatio Fields from 14 yards out.
End of 2: Ole Miss 35 Florida 14
3rd Quarter
Florida got the ball to start the second half and Aaron Philo gave the fans some hope as he connected with Eric Singleton for a 17 yard touchdown pass to get the game back to within two scores. Ole Miss drove right back down the field but after a couple of sacks had to settle for a Lucas Carneiro field goal. Unfortunately, for the second week in a row, Carneiro’s kick was no good. The Gators were able to quickly flip the field and score three themselves on the ensuing drive. The Rebels were able to get on the board with a Chambliss swing pass to JT Lindsey from 5 yards out.
End of 3: Ole Miss 42 Florida 24
While the Rebels didn’t allow Florida to storm all the way back as they did in the previous week, Florida was able to win the third and cut into their deficit some. However, that would be as close as the Gators got. The Ole Miss defense stifled the Gators in the fourth while the Rebels added a rushing touchdown from Lindsey to end all scoring for the contest.
Final: Ole Miss 49 Florida 24
Story of the Stats
Trinidad Chambliss went 23/30 for 353 yards and five touchdowns. He was also sacked three times but thanks to a 40 yard run, he finished with 40 yards rushing on 11 carries.
Kewan Lacy ran the ball 15 times for 143 yards and a score. He had 3 runs of 20+ yards with a long of 54. He had an insane 114 yards after contact.
Deuce Alexander was in his bag, hauling in eight balls for 198 yards and two touchdowns. 124 of those yards were YAC.
Jonathan Maldonado had three sacks while Will Echoles and Kam Franklin each added one of their own.
Jadan Baugh did have 11 carries for 123 yards and a score. Which is terrifying because he’s their X-factor this Saturday.
Aaron Philo was limited to 258 yards on 23/37 passing with a touchdown and five sacks.
Ole Miss had 550 yards of total offense while holding the Gators to 389.
Ole Miss led in almost every statistical category except time of possession, plays and first downs. Explosive plays were the name of this game.
