OXFORD, Miss. — In their home opener against No. 5 Florida, the Mississippi Rebels came into the game without any expectations. At the same time, all eyes were on the offense led by their offensive-minded head coach Lane Kiffin. Though the Rebels showed promise against the Gators, they came up short losing, 51-35.
The offense was clicking on all cylinders for the most part. Kiffin had Matt Corral in as his starting quarterback. Corral led the offense down the field several times.
Corral completed 22 of 31 passes for 395 yards and three touchdowns passes, two to Dontario Drummond. In all, Corral had a clean game, minus the one interception he threw when the ball was tipped in the air and landed in the hands of Florida Gators’ Gervon Dexter.
Corral had many offensive weapons to play with against the Florida Gators, including Elijah Moore. He led the Rebels with 227 yards receiving.
In addition to the offense syncing nicely in the home opener, Kiffin had a few tricks up his sleeves during the game. Most notably, when the Rebels went for it on 4th down on the opening possession of the game. At one point, Kiffin had both of his quarterbacks on the field during that drive. Additionally, the Rebels converted on a double pass between Drummond connecting with running back Jerrion Ealy for a 45-yard gain.
Despite the Rebels offense looking legit and ready to compete, their defense was not able to contain the Florida Gators at all.
Florida’s Kyle Pitts caught four of Kyle Trask’s six touchdown passes and No. 5 Florida spoiled the head coaching debut of Mississippi’s Kiffin.
Trask completed 30 of 42 passes for 416 yards including touchdown passes of 1, 16, 71 and 17 yards to Pitts. The star tight end had 170 yards receiving.
Trask directed four consecutive touchdown drives that spanned the second and third quarters to build a 41-14 lead for the Gators (1-0 Southeastern Conference).
The Rebels couldn’t stop the Gators. Mississippi (0-1) tied it at 14 midway through the second quarter before yielding to the Trask-led Florida outburst.
The teams combined for 1,255 yards of total offense, including 642 by the Gators.
Trevon Grimes and Kedarius Toney had touchdown receptions of 22 and 16 yards respectively, for Florida. Jerrion Ealy had two touchdown runs for the Rebels.
THE TAKEAWAY
Florida: The already high expectations for coach Dan Mullen’s third team should only go up. notch. Along with the formidable offense, the kicking game was highlighted by three field goals by Evan McPherson, including a 55-yarder with room to spare. Brenton Cox Jr. led the defense that had 11 tackles for loss and a turnover,
Mississippi: The Rebels featured a completely new coaching staff with scheme changes. Spring practice did not happen. An influx of newcomers and coronavirus testing protocols shuffled the fall depth charts. Expectations were cautiously optimistic for Kiffin’s home debut in front of an enthusiastic crowd of 16,010 and nearly 600 fan cutouts purchased at $55 apiece. The Rebels answered with an impressive offensive performance, led by Elijah Moore’s 227 yards receiving.
UP NEXT:
The Rebels visit No. 23 Kentucky Saturday.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
