After Florida’s 38-7 loss at Kentucky on Saturday, the Gators have to pick up whatever is left of the team for a road trip to Oxford, Miss., to face No. 6 Ole Miss at 7 p.m. Saturday.
Florida is 3-6 overall, 2-4 in the SEC and on the verge of clinching its fourth losing season in five years if it cannot win this week. Not only that, but a loss would guarantee the second time in three years that the Gators do not make it to a bowl game.
“Just keep our head down and grind,” Gators linebacker Myles Graham said. “We can’t change what’s in the past. So, we just got to look forward and try to come out with the win next week.”
Loading ...Saturday’s loss to Kentucky either indicated the end is near or a mere blip to an overall competitive team that just cannot seem to find wins this season. Regardless of whatever direction this program is going, it will have to prepare for its toughest remaining game this season. Ole Miss (9-1, 5-1) comes into this game with its only loss at the hands of Georgia. The Rebels are trying to make it to the program’s first college football playoff after coming up short a season ago.
A big reason for that was a 24-17 defeat in Gainesville to Florida a year ago that effectively ended any chance of making it. But in much better shape this season, Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin has his team primed for a postseason push in 2025 and a chance to avenge that loss.
Florida heads into the road finale as a massive 15.5-point underdog, according to Fanduel Sportsbook. The Gators are riding a three-game winning streak against the Rebels and lead the all-time series by a slim 13-12-1 margin.
While the game carries the most weight, most of the Florida fanbase has its eyes set on Kiffin this weekend. UF fans identified Kiffin as their main target to become the next Gators head coach. Many have hyped up Kiffin as Florida’s next coach, and Billy Napier’s firing only amplified the noise.
Now, whether Kiffin actually decides to leave or not, one thing is for sure: expect a bunch of Gators fans in attendance to try and grab his attention. Kiffin sees the antics on social media, often feeding into it to grow a bigger reaction, such as Saturday night when he reposted an X post from On3 about DJ Lagway being benched.
As for Florida, the Gators could have a quarterback controversy leading into this one as interim coach Billy Gonzales did not announce a starting play-caller for this week’s game, although it is hard to imagine DJ Lagway in a world where he does not start this game. Gonzales reinforced that this team is not giving up, regardless of the overall record and hopes that the team can stay together.
“If I’m a competitor and I’m fighting to be better and I know at the end of the day what I’m doing can help me out later down the road, and continue to fight for my teammates and continue to fight for the school, the without exception part comes into play,” Gonzales said. “Just talked to them. We’re not going to splinter. We can’t splinter.”
