![during the first half at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, FL on Saturday, November 23, 2024. The Gators defeated the Rebels 24-17 [Doug Engle/Gainesville Sun]](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,x_0,y_196,w_4607,h_2591/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/213/01jdhp663nwthcx93j7t.jpg "during the first half at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, FL on Saturday, November 23, 2024. The Gators defeated the Rebels 24-17 [Doug Engle/Gainesville Sun]")
Saturday was a massive win for Florida Football, as the Gators beat 9th-ranked Ole Miss 24-17 to move to 6-5 on the season with one more game to go against FSU.
Like we do at the end of every game, here are two truths and a lie for after the win.
Truth: Bryce Thornton had the game of his life
Safety play for Florida has been a question mark all season long. Jordan Castell keeps getting significant snaps despite not playing at a level that warrants significant snaps.
The problem for Florida is that there hasn't been anyone else to rotate through, as the Gators have tried just about the entire depth chart.
Bryce Thornton had 319 snaps last season as a freshman but was rotated out in favor of the transfers Florida brought in.
He has had to fight off injuries this season and only appeared in seven games prior to Saturday, but a big part of why Florida was able to keep Ole Miss at bay was the 14 total tackles Thornton had, along with his two interceptions.
Truth: Trikweze Bridges was a hidden hero
Speaking of transfer safeties, Trikweze Bridges might be the unsung hero of the game. Given injuries to Florida's secondary, Bridges started playing corner during the Texas game, and on Saturday, he was matched up with Jordan Watkins, who has almost 700 yards receiving on the season.
Watkins had eight catches for 80 yards on Saturday, but just three of those catches were attributed to Bridges, and Watkins needed to be targeted 14 times to get those eight catches.
Lie: Lane Kiffin can win the big one
For the record, during all our discourse about Billy Napier this season, we here at Hail Florida Hail never fully committed to the Lane Train as a replacement.
We are simply going to refer back to what we wrote in August when we did our preseason Confidence Meter:
"Ole Miss attacked the transfer portal hard in the offseason and appears poised to take another step forward and make the expanded playoffs in 2024.
But there is a buyer beware that comes with Lane Kiffin. We have a phrase here at Hail Florida Hail that until you have done it, you haven't done it. For as long as Kiffin has been around college football, he hasn't been the head coach of a team to enter that elite category.
So, assuming they are in the second tier of teams in 2024, Florida will feel like they have a shot at home."
Buyer beware, indeed.