Fresh off an emotional upset, the Rebels must silence the hype and survive "The Swamp" to keep their playoff dreams alive against a surging, upset-minded Florida squad.
Super Bowls aren't played in September, and Ole Miss head coach Pete Golding is trying to do everything in his power to make sure the No. 4 Rebels don't have a hangover after beating then-No. 7 LSU in Week 3.
Ole Miss played an emotional contest against the Tigers and head coach Lane Kiffin, who left the Rebels before the College Football Playoff last season. The contest between Ole Miss and LSU had been circled on the calendar ever since the SEC schedule came out.
The Rebels played up to the hype, beating an LSU team that was dominant in Week 1 against Clemson, beating the Tigers 32-24 in Oxford.
Ole Miss still has everything ahead of them after earning an early win over an SEC force. The Rebels will get no break in Week 4, traveling to play No. 21 Florida on Saturday.
Golding had a strong message for his team this week, saying Florida doesn't care about what the Rebels did against LSU in Week 3. The Gators are more than happy to watch the Rebels be complacent on Saturday.
"These guys worked hard in the offseason and the summer, so that’s kind of been my message all week to them," Golding said, via On3. “If you want to throw away everything you did all offseason and all summer because you beat one team in September then, man, you came here for the wrong reason."
Golding said the goals and expectations for Ole Miss are to do more than beat LSU and gain revenge over Kiffin. The Rebels understand the Gators are a talented team with an exceptional coach, who made the CFP last season with Tulane.
The win over LSU is now in the past. The Ole Miss needs to beat the Gators to continue its push for greater things in the SEC and CFP picture.
The Gators will enter the contest looking for their own chance to enter the CFP conversation. Florida earned its first win over a Power 4 team in Week 3 when they defeated Auburn 44-39 on the road.
Under first-year head coach Jon Sumrall, Florida is in position to start 4-0 and gain serious momentum if the team can pull an upset over Ole Miss on Saturday.
Florida fans need to give the Gators momentum.
Earlier this week, Sumrall suggested that Florida will have a major advantage on Saturday thanks to the crowd at "The Swamp." Given that the best player on the Rebels is quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, the crowd could be a factor if they can make it hard for Chambliss to communicate on the field.
Ole Miss took advantage of having a loud home crowd against LSU. The Rebels could struggle in a similar atmosphere on Saturday.
