Jon Sumrall, Gators Look to Continue History of Upsetting Ole Miss in The Swamp

The Swamp has not always been kind to Ole Miss.

Florida and Ole Miss are squaring off once again Saturday, and the Rebels find themselves coming into Gainesville with a familiar target on their backs: both of Ole Miss’s last two trips to The Swamp came with a top-10 ranking attached, and both times, Florida walked out victorious.

The two programs’ history isn’t especially telling on paper. The all-time series, which dates back to 1926, is tied at 13-13-1, with the two sides splitting the ledger evenly outside of a 1934 tie. Ole Miss actually holds a 6-5-1 edge in games played specifically in Gainesville, and Florida has won six of the last 10 meetings between the two dating back to 1994.

Both teams enter Saturday off big wins last weekend — Florida earned a statement victory on the road at Auburn, while Ole Miss got a measure of revenge against Lane Kiffin and his new team, LSU.

The most recent chapter came in 2024, during the Billy Napier era. Lane Kiffin’s No. 9 Ole Miss team arrived in Gainesville pushing for a College Football Playoff berth, while the unranked Gators, fresh off knocking off No. 22 LSU in The Swamp the week before, had other plans.

The teams traded blows into the fourth quarter, with Florida eventually building a 24-17 lead behind quarterback DJ Lagway. Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart — now with the New York Giants — kept the Rebels within reach until the closing minutes, but Florida’s defense slammed the door. With Ole Miss trailing 24-17, Dart was intercepted twice in the final two minutes, at the 2:26 and 46-second marks, both picked off by Bryce Thornton. Running back Montrell Johnson Jr. also chipped in a rushing touchdown for the Gators.

The win knocked Ole Miss out of playoff contention. Afterward, Kiffin credited the loss to “missed opportunities,” while Napier described it as a turning point for his program.

“I would say we’re just getting started. This is just part of the big-picture journey,” Napier said after the game. “I think there’s something special about this group.”

The win came during Napier’s third season in Gainesville and helped fuel optimism that the following year could mark a new beginning for the program. Despite opening 2024 with a brutal 41-17 loss to Miami, Florida finished 8-5, adding SEC wins over LSU and Kentucky alongside the Ole Miss upset.

The previous time Ole Miss visited Gainesville was in 2015, during Jim McElwain’s first season as Florida’s head coach. The No. 3 Rebels came into a 7 p.m. matchup against a Florida team ranked 25th, and the Gators pulled off another major upset, dominating Ole Miss 38-10.

Quarterback Will Grier led the way, completing 24 of 29 passes for 271 yards and four touchdowns, with running back Jordan Cronkrite adding a rushing score. Grier and roughly 20 other Florida players were reportedly still recovering from a stomach virus the week of the game, but it didn’t show on the field.

“As an offense, we’re just starting to click, I think it’s starting to come together for us,” Grier said after the win. “I think we’re doing a better job preparing, and the guys around me, we’re all kind of elevating as a team and doing a really good job.”

The win pushed Florida to 5-0 on the season. The Gators ultimately finished 10-4, closing the year on a difficult three-game skid — a 27-2 loss to Florida State, a 29-15 loss to Alabama in the SEC Championship and a 41-7 loss to Michigan in the Citrus Bowl — but still finished No. 25 in the final AP Poll. Ole Miss, meanwhile, closed out 2015 at 10-3, capping the season with a Sugar Bowl win over Oklahoma State and a No. 10 final ranking.

Heading into Saturday, both programs have different rosters, different coaches and, arguably, different cultures than they did in 2015 or 2024. But if history is any indication, Ole Miss will once again be looking to shake a pattern that has haunted its last two visits to Gainesville — while Florida looks to take the all-time series lead and deal the Rebels’ playoff hopes another blow.

Category: Football, Gators Football