Unlike last week, the Florida Gators showed up willing to fight and come out with a win on the road. One week after getting blown out by Kentucky, the Gators took Ole Miss into deep waters that the Rebel faithful would have rather not have gone into.
But in a story that is as old as the Billy Napier Era, the Gators made one too many backbreaking mistakes to overcome and defeat a top ten opponent and officially ended any hope of a bowl game in 2025.
Florida loses 34-24 to Ole Miss
In our pregame predictions, we said Florida would score 24 points.
We got that part right.
But perhaps in a bit of hope, faith, and vibes, we predicted Ole Miss would score 21 points.
And even though Florida lost 34-24, the sad part is that Florida wasn't that far away from pulling off our original vision.
What doomed Florida was nothing new and was a common scene to anyone who has paid attention ever since Billy Napier got a job in Gainesville.
A crucial defensive stop was upended by a nonsensical offside that led to a touchdown.
DJ Lagway had a wide-open 1st down, where an incomplete pass would have resulted in a game-tying field goal, only for it to turn into an interception.
Throw in Ole Miss getting a tipped pass back to itself, along with the Rebels recovering a potential fumble, and it's not difficult to paint a picture of just how close Florida was to pulling off the upset to potentially knock Ole Miss out of the playoffs.
Suppose one is looking for solace as a Gator fan. In that case, Ole Miss fans were chanting at the end of the game, "We want Lane," yet when approached after the game by ESPN's sideline reporter, Lane Kiffin looked uncomfortable and wanted no part of addressing anything about the game.
And so if Gator fans are looking for something to cling to, knowing that tonight's loss ends the hope of anything tangible from the 2025 season, it's that Florida still may emerge victorious from the Lane Kiffin Bowl.
Even if the scoreboard didn't show it.