Ole Miss began the season by beating a ranked team (then-No. 24 Louisville).
Last week the Rebels knocked off the No. 7 team (LSU and former Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin) 32-24.
Now, No. 4 Ole Miss (3-0, 1-0 SEC) finishes its September gauntlet by facing No. 21 Florida (3-0, 1-0) on Saturday afternoon in Gainesville, Fla.
“Going into Week 4 based on the schedule we’ve had and we don’t have a loss, we feel decent about it.” Rebels head coach Pete Golding said. “Are we where we want to be? No. What does that ever even look like? I don’t know where that comfort zone is.”
Golding said he recognized that there was no more time to feel satisfied about the 3-0 start as soon as he started evaluating film of the Gators.
“I realized, ‘Here we go again,'” Golding said. “We’re pretty used to that now. You’re playing really good competition, but in this league that’s expected week in and week out.
“We did some really good things and beat a good football team (last week), but that was just the first SEC game we played. Now we’re going on the road against a Top 25 team and a really, really good football team. I think (the players) understand that.”
Trinidad Chambliss passed for 363 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another score against the Tigers while solidifying his standing as one of the top Heisman Trophy candidates.
Running back Kewan Lacy left the game against LSU because of a shoulder injury after rushing for 43 yards and a touchdown. Golding said the injury wasn’t as severe as the Rebels feared and Lacy might be able to play against Florida.
This will be the Rebels’ first game against their opponent on its home field this season.
The Gators are 3-0 for the first time in seven years after giving former Tulane head coach Jon Sumrall a victory in his first SEC game at Florida by defeating host Auburn 44-39 last week.
Sumrall called Chambliss “as good a college football player I’ve ever seen with my own two eyes.” One way the Gators can limit Chambliss’ impact is by keeping the ball away from him. Gators running back Jaden Baugh is tied for the national lead with eight rushing touchdowns and is second with an average of 152.7 rushing yards per game.
But Sumrall emphasized that the Gators will be facing their biggest challenge thus far.
“If we play like we did last week or any of the weeks so far this year, we will not win Saturday. No chance,” he said. “The type of teams that win are tough, they’re urgent, they’re disciplined and they’re detailed. The type of teams that don’t (win), they’re complacent, they’re soft, they lack urgency.”
Sumrall has a few things to focus on to drive home the need for improvement this week. In addition to the 39 points allowed, Florida yielded 22 first downs and was penalized 16 times for 138 yards.
“As we move on to this opponent this week, the margin for error for us is so much smaller,” Sumrall said.
