Ole Miss Rebels and Florida Gators in Dogfight at Halftime in Gainesville

No. 9 The Ole Miss Rebels and Florida Gators are in a dogfight on Saturday, with the teams trading fourth-down stops and fourth-down conversions en route to a 14-14 halftime score.

Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart has looked poised in the face of adversity with touchdown passes to Cayden Lee and Tre Harris. On the other hand, DJ Lagway hasn’t looked like your typical freshman, maneuvering the pocket in the face of pressure and extended plays and Gator drives that led to two scores.

Rebels wide receiver Micah Davis has been used out of the backfield in the rushing and passing games, a small wrinkle with running backs Rashad Amos and Logan Diggs ruled out.

The Rebels have also struggled with injuries with Yam Banks and Tre Harris heading to the locker room in the first half. Banks was in coverage on one of Florida’s touchdown passes, and Harris scored a touchdown a couple of drives before heading back to the locker room in what appeared to be possibly the renewal of his groin injury.

The Rebels defense hasn’t been as dominant as usual, struggling to contain Lagway, and the Gators have also found a game on the ground, rushing for 120 yards in the first two quarters.

Ole Miss also left some points on the field with a missed Caden Davis field goal and a failed fourth down conversion deep in Gators territory. The Rebels will need to find some more points and shut down a dangerous Florida offense to keep their CFP hopes alive on Saturday.

Statistics for the first half

Jaxson Dart: 16-of-23 passing, 237 yards, two touchdowns; 4 rushes for 5 yards

Dae’Quan Wright: four catches, 57 yards

Cayden Lee: three catches, 44 yards, one touchdown

Tre Harris: one catch, 43 yards, one touchdown.

Micah Davis: seven carries, 17 yards

JJ Pegues: four rushes, 11 yards