Florida dashes Ole Miss’ playoff hopes with upset at Swamp

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — DJ Lagway threw two touchdown passes, Montrell Johnson ran for 127 yards and a score, and Florida upset No. 9 Mississippi 24-17 on Saturday to knock the Rebels out of College Football Playoff contention.

The Gators (6-5, 4-4 SEC), who topped LSU last week, beat ranked teams in consecutive weeks for the first time since 2008 and became bowl eligible. The late-season spurt provided another vote of confidence for coach Billy Napier, who is expected back for a fourth season.

Ole Miss (8-3, 4-3), which closed as a 13.5-point favorite at ESPN BET, lost for the first time in four games and will surely drop out of the 12-team playoff picture. The Rebels ranked ninth in the latest CFP rankings and needed only to avoid stumbling down the stretch against Florida and lowly Mississippi State to clinch a spot in the playoff field.

It marked Florida’s second-largest upset win in the past 45 seasons, behind a win at No. 16 LSU in 2016 (14-point underdogs). It was also the Gators’ first win as a double-digit home underdog in the past 45 seasons.

Lane Kiffin’s Ole Miss team had a miscue-filled Saturday: 0-for-3 on trips inside the red zone; a season-high three turnovers; 3-for-14 on third downs; and a season-high five dropped passes despite perfect weather.

Bryce Thornton intercepted passes to end Ole Miss’ last two drives, including one with 17 seconds remaining that sent nearly the entire Florida team into a raucous celebration in the end zone.

Jaxson Dart completed 24 of 41 passes for 323 yards, with two TDs and the two picks. He also scrambled 14 times for a team-high 71 yards.

The Rebels probably would have had a comfortable lead had it not been for repeated failures inside the 20-yard line. Defensive tackle JJ Pegues, a 325-pound wrecking ball out of the backfield, was stopped on two fourth-down runs inside the 20-yard line, and Caden Davis missed a 34-yard field goal in the second quarter.

Ole Miss also dropped an egregious number of passes, including at least three that probably would have been touchdowns. Jordan Watkins (twice), Wells (twice), Dae’Quan Wright and star receiver Tre Harris were among the droppers.

Florida was much more efficient. Lagway completed 10 of 17 passes for 180 yards, with an interception.

Information from ESPN Research and The Associated Press was used in this report.