DALLAS (FWAA) – The Florida Gators rushed for 302 yards, scored touchdowns on their first five possessions of the second half and defeated No. 4 Ole Miss, 52-28, before 90,683 fans at The Swamp. For their first victory over a top-five opponent in six years, the Gators earned the Pop-Tarts Bowl Crazy Good Team of the Week honor for games of the weekend of Sept. 26, as selected by the All-America Committee of the Football Writers Association of America.
Florida (4-0, 2-0 SEC) led 17-6 at halftime, but Ole Miss twice pulled within three points in the third quarter. The Gators answered the first challenge with Duke Clark’s 45-yard touchdown run. After the Rebels closed to 24-21, London Montgomery returned the ensuing kickoff 74 yards to set up Aaron Philo’s 1-yard scoring run.
The defense then supplied a turning point. Jayden Woods sacked Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss and forced a fumble that Myles Graham recovered. Florida converted the takeaway into a touchdown and a 38-21 lead. When Ole Miss cut the margin to 10 once more, the Gators answered with another touchdown drive on their way to 52 points and 498 yards of offense.
Jadan Baugh rushed for 142 yards and three touchdowns on 29 carries. Clark added 126 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries, making them Florida’s first pair of 100-yard rushers in the same game since 2022. Philo completed 16 of 23 passes for 142 yards and a touchdown and also scored on the ground.
This is Florida’s seventh FWAA National Team of the Week honor and its first since a 29-26 victory over No. 7 Utah on Sept. 3, 2022. The Gators also received the honor after defeating Ole Miss, 38-10, in 2015; they were previously recognized following wins over Georgia in 2014 and at LSU in 2009.
Florida matched its win total from all of 2025 with Saturday’s victory. The Gators visit Missouri this Saturday.
The FWAA has recognized a National Team of the Week since the 2002 season. Weekly candidates are evaluated by the FWAA All-America Committee with supporting data analysis from the Iron Football app. Today’s announcement will also be featured on the Cover 3 Podcast, hosted by Chip Patterson, Tom Fornelli, Danny Kanell and Bud Elliott of CBS Sports.
Each honored team will receive a delivery of assorted Pop-Tarts and a custom-crafted game ball from Big Game USA, the Dallas-based manufacturer of handcrafted American-made footballs.
Florida Citrus Sports is a nonprofit event-management organization dedicated to benefiting the Orlando region through world-class events. Its annual events include the Citrus Bowl, Pop-Tarts Bowl, Florida Blue Florida Classic, Camping World Kickoff and FC Series. More information is available at FloridaCitrusSports.com.
Founded in 1941, the Football Writers Association of America consists of 1,200 journalists, broadcasters, publicists and key executives involved in college football. Its work includes game-day operations, major awards and its annual All-America team. For information about the FWAA and its awards, contact Steve Richardson at tiger@fwaa.com.