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The University of Mississippi Athletics
GAME PREVIEW: Ole Miss vs. Florida
9/22/2008 | Football
OXFORD, Miss. The Ole Miss football team faces its second consecutive opponent from the SEC Eastern Division, when the Rebels travel to Gainesville Saturday at 11:30 a.m. CT to take on the fourth-ranked Florida Gators from Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
Saturday's game between Ole Miss and Florida can been seen live on Raycom Sports/ESPN Gameplan with veteran broadcaster Dave Neal handling the play-by-play duties. Dave Archer will serve as the color analyst, while Dave Baker will be the sideline reporter. CSS will also air the replay of the game Sunday at 1 p.m.
Ole Miss (2-2, 0-1 SEC) dropped a 23-17 decision to Vanderbilt in its last outing in a game that featured seven total turnovers. The Rebels held a 10-0 lead early in the game after Peria Jerry scored on a 13-yard fumble return for his first career touchdown. For his performance, Jerry was named SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week.
After Vanderbilt scored on an interception returned for a touchdown to cut the lead to 10-7, Rebel senior Mike Wallace answered on the ensuing kickoff with the fifth-longest return in school history as he raced 98 yards to put the Rebels back ahead by 10 points. Vanderbilt, however, scored the final nine points of the game and forced a critical fumble deep in its own territory late in the fourth quarter to seal the victory.
"I think we are on the verge of having a good football team," Ole Miss head coach Houston Nutt said. "As much as I wanted to win that game Saturday night, what I feel good about is how they were in the locker room. That's when you know and really find out about your team. I really feel that we are going to another level."
Despite the setback against Vanderbilt, the Rebel offense continues to put up daunting numbers through the first four games of the season. Ole Miss ranks fourth in the conference with 401.8 yards of total offense, while standing fifth in the league with 30.0 points per game. Sophomore quarterback Jevan Snead is tied for the league lead with six touchdown passes and is third in the SEC with an average of 211.0 passing yards per game. Junior wide receiver Dexter McCluster continues to be the biggest beneficiary in the open field as he stands third in the SEC with 73.8 receiving yards per game.
Florida (3-0, 1-0 SEC) enters the weekend following a 30-6 win over Tennessee in its conference opener. Gator quarterback Tim Tebow threw for two touchdown passes and the Florida defense held the Vols scoreless for the first three quarters en route to its fourth straight win over UT.
"The thing about Florida is that they can beat you in so many ways," Nutt said. "They can jump on you in a hurry with a kickoff return or punt return. They have speed at every position with two deep. They can pressure you at quarterback. They can line up and put eight to nine men at the line of scrimmage and feel good about their corners in lock down position."
This game will be the 23rd all-time between Ole Miss and Florida, with the Rebels holding an 11-10-1 advantage. The two teams have split the last six meetings. The last time the two teams faced off in Gainesville was in 2003, when the Rebels upset the No. 24 Gators, 20-17. Ole Miss leads the all-time series in Gainesville, 5-3-1.
OleMissSports.com will provide live audio through RebelVision, an in-game blog and a link for live stats for the game. The official Rebel athletics website will also provide a full game recap and photo gallery at the conclusion.
