Three key takeaways from Florida football's loss to the Ole Miss Rebels

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Florida football faced the No. 6 Ole Miss Rebels in Oxford on Saturday night, and from what looked promising for most of the game got out of hand in the end.

The Gators lost 34-24 to Ole Miss and the game felt a lot more competitive than the scoreboard may indicate. But unfortunately, a costly interception thrown by DJ Lagway and an inability to stop the Rebels' rushing attack were too much to overcome.

And to add salt to the wound, Vaught-Hemingway Stadium started playing Tom Petty's "I won't back down" for the Ole Miss crowd to sing along to.

Now sitting at 3-7 this season, the Florida Gators are ready to turn the page and move to next year.

Here are the three top takeaways from Florida's loss against Ole Miss.

Kewan Lacy had his way with Florida's defense

The Florida defense had their fair share of struggles against Ole Miss' rushing attack, and they didn't find many positive run-stopping plays.

Ole Miss running back Kewan Lacy had a field day against the Gators, running for 224 yards on 31 carries and three scores. Lacy recorded a season-high in rushing yards, averaging 7.2 yards per carry.

All night long, even if it felt like the Gators' defense might have figured Lacy out, he'd break out for a huge run. His longest run of the night was a 59-yard rush up the middle of the field that setup a touchdown score.

Not all was bad on the defensive side

This game couldn't have started out more poorly than it did for Florida. They won the coin toss, elected to receive and went three-and-out on their opening drive. Ole Miss took over and immediately went down the field to score a touchdown and grab a 7-0 lead. Next offensive possession for the Gators: three-and-out.

This had the recipe for another one of those blowout losses. But here comes Jayden Woods, the freshman edge rusher who came up with his first career interception.

And from that point on, it seemed to have sparked some life for the Gators and didn't let the game run away from them for most of the game.

Also, the Gators' defensive front was able to generate a lot of pressure in the backfield. Florida was able to sack Trinidad Chambliss five times and throw him off his game a little bit. But unfortunately, all those rushing yards allowed was just too much to overcome.

The DJ Lagway interception was inevitable

I really wish this was a joke, but it seems like every game, we're due for an interception from Lagway.

With just over nine minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, Florida was driving down the field and got all the way down to Ole Miss' 30-yard line. But, Lagway had a mis-throw and threw a ball right into the hands of a Rebels defender.

That interception ultimately wiped away any momentum the Gators had going for them.

I've got to give a lot of credit to Florida's offensive line for allowing Lagway time in the pocket, but the turnovers have been a constant theme all season and unfortunately, things haven't changed.

Up next for Florida

The Gators head back to the Swamp and host the Tennessee Volunteers on Saturday, Nov. 22. Kickoff time and broadcast details have not yet been announced.

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This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Three key takeaways from Florida football's loss to Ole Miss

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