‘Most Emotionally Draining Experience’ — Ex-NFL QB Delivers Bad News on Ole Miss’ Chances for Florida Matchup After Win vs. LSU
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The Ole Miss Rebels continued their upward trajectory under coach Pete Golding, rising to No. 4 in the AP Top 25 Poll after beating former coach Lane Kiffin’s LSU Tigers in Oxford last weekend. The Rebels will face one of the toughest challenges this season when they travel to Gainesville to face the unbeaten No. 21 Florida Gators in the swamp in Week 4.
Despite the Rebels’ epic win over the talented Tigers, ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky backed the Gators’ status as favorites against Ole Miss.
Dan Orlovsky Pessimistic About Ole Miss’s Chances Against Florida
During Friday’s segment of the “Get Up” show, Orlovsky detailed the emotional toll on the Rebels players after last weekend’s marquee matchup against Kiffin’s Tigers, which he said could be a deciding factor in Gainesville this weekend.
“The challenge for Ole Miss is, last weekend was the highest emotional experience those kids have ever had,” Orlovsky said.
He added, “The most emotionally draining experience. The build-up that Joe (Fortenbaugh) mentions, the way the game unfolds. You go up early, then you hang on late and make the fourth down stop, and then I’m sure they had a good night for a Saturday night on campus.”
“How do the 18-23-year-olds get themselves back up from that emotional drain that was the best night of their lives I’m sure?”
The Rebels and the Gators have been on divergent trajectories for years, as Florida struggled to recapture the glory days of the Urban Meyer era under Billy Napier, then fired him midway through the season and finally hired Jon Sumrall in his place. Sumrall’s Gators have started the season unbeaten, including a thrilling 44-39 win over the Auburn Tigers.
On the other hand, the Rebels under Kiffin were a rising power, and they completed the best regular season in program history last year (11-1) before falling just short of the national championship game when the Miami Hurricanes pipped them 31-27 in the Fiesta Bowl.
During his weekly news conference on Monday, Sumrall dismissed his team’s favorite status against Ole Miss.
“There’s a lot of good drugs out there,” Sumrall said.
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He later added, “The goal is how do we get to 1-0 each week. If we don’t do self-improvement, we have no shot this week. Whoever’s doing the (spread), didn’t watch tape. They’ve got the best quarterback in college football, I think.”
Sumrall’s Florida, led by running back Jadan Baugh’s impressive performances, boasts a PFN’s College Team Offense Impact score of 87.5 (No. 10 in the country) and will prove a tough nut to crack for Golding’s Rebels.
This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network.
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