Kewan Lacy rushed for a career-high 224 yards on 31 carries and set an Ole Miss touchdown record, and the No. 7 Rebels took another step toward the postseason by rallying to a 34-24 win over the Florida Gators on Saturday night in Oxford, Miss.
The Rebels (10-1, 6-1 Southeastern Conference) rallied from a 24-20 fourth-quarter deficit in avenging a 24-17 loss to the visitors a year ago in Florida that knocked the Lane Kiffin-led squad out of the College Football Playoff.
Ole Miss posted its third consecutive 10-win season for the first time in program history.
Lacy scored three times, giving him 19 to set a Rebels single-season rushing TD record. He increased his team-high rushing total to 1,136 yards with his first career 200-yard game.
Trinidad Chambliss was 26 of 35 for 301 yards with a TD and an interception for Ole Miss. Teammate De’Zhaun Stribling had 76 yards and a TD on four catches.
Ole Miss converted 4 of 7 fourth-down attempts as Kiffin beat Florida for the first time in four tries.
The Gators (3-7, 2-5), rumored to be courting Kiffin as their next head coach, saw DJ Lagway go 16 of 31 for 218 yards with a TD and a pick after being benched a week ago in a 38-7 loss at the Kentucky Wildcats.
Lacy set the record by plunging in with 9:09 left in the first quarter, and the Rebels added another score on a 27-yard field goal by Lucas Carneiro at 3:58.
However, the Gators produced short rushing TDs by Lagway and Jadan Baugh for a 14-10 advantage. The home side went back up 17-14 when Chambliss hit the speedy Stribling in stride for a 43-yard TD on a third-and-10 at 9:39.
Florida, though, had an answer, as Lagway lobbed a scoring reception of 57 yards to J. Michael Sturdivant.
Kickers Carneiro (23 yards) and Trey Smack (38) traded successful kicks as Florida led 24-20 at the break.
In the third, Ole Miss had a strong 15-play, 75-yard series that featured two fourth-down conversions, but Florida stopped the final one at the 1-yard line for a turnover on downs.
However, Lacy galloped 59 yards on the quarter’s final play, and he scored on a short run on the fourth’s first snap for a 27-24 lead.
Following a last-ditch fourth-down turnover by Florida on its own 4, Lacy rushed in for his third score with 1:43 left in regulation and the 10-point difference.
–Field Level Media
