Jadan Baugh leads offensive explosion as Florida mauls No. 4 Ole Miss
By Ethan Stone
Published:
The Florida Gators are going to be ranked much higher than No. 21 when the AP poll drops Sunday afternoon.
The Gators offense was simply unstoppable on Saturday against No. 4 Ole Miss, blitzing a competent Rebels defense for 52 points in a 52-28 blowout win over what has looked like one of the best teams in college football this season.
While QB Aaron Philo and the Gators’ elite group of receivers were excellent on Saturday (we’ll get to them in a minute), Jadan Baugh was the star of the show. The best running back in college football added to his already impressive 2026 ledger, totaling 29 carries for 142 yards and 3 touchdowns. In doing so, Baugh joined Emmitt Smith and Fred Taylor as the only Florida running backs to post 5 straight games of 100+ yards.
This is what a non-QB Heisman candidate looks like, folks:
Making Florida’s run game even more dangerous, Duke Clark had an excellent outing, too. The Gators sophomore rushed for 126 yards on 12 carries, including a 45-yard touchdown jaunt near the start of the second half.
The Gators rushed for 302 yards against the Rebels:
Aaron Philo and the passing game were cooking on Saturday as well. The Georgia Tech transfer completed 16 of his 23 passing attempts for 196 yards and a touchdown with zero turnovers, also adding 6 carries for 14 yards and a rushing touchdown.
What’s perhaps more impressive, Philo hit just under 200 passing yards despite none of his receivers finishing with over 40 yards receiving. Philo’s 16 completions were hauled in by 8 different receivers, led by Eric Singleton who caught 1 pass for 38 yards. The Gators quarterback made sure to spread the love, making Buster Faulkner’s offense that much tougher to stop.
The Gators are rolling, folks. Next up, Florida is set to travel to Mizzou for a test against Austin Simmons and the Tigers.
Ethan Stone is a Saturday Down South News Editor and an advocate for the return of the Seattle Supersonics.
