Week 3 of the 2026 college football season saw two teams ranked in the top-10 suffer their first loss of the season. But ESPN’s computer model is expecting that a team in the top-five will fall tomorrow.
According to ESPN Analytics, tomorrow’s game between No. 4 Ole Miss – fresh off their revenge game over former coach Lane Kiffin – and No. 21 Florida is going to see the Gators chow down on the Rebels. The outlet gives Florida a 53.2-percent chance to win tomorrow’s game in Gainesville.
The ESPN computer model is far from the only one expecting that Ole Miss’ big win will be followed by a massive letdown. DraftKings’ betting line has the Gators favored by 3.5 points – a two-point shift in Florida’s favor since the line first opened.
The reason that people are so down on Ole Miss in this game probably has to do with their extensive injury report while the Gators are coming in fit as a fiddle. More importantly, there’s questions about the availability of Ole Miss star running back Kewan Lacy, who ran roughshod over LSU last weekend and played no small role in that win.
A great start for the Gators
Of course, the lack of confidence in Ole Miss could just be an abundance of confidence in Florida, which is well-earned. The Gators are thriving under the leadership of new head coach Jon Sumrall, who has them off to a 3-0 start for the first time since 2019.
That 2019 Gators team went on to finish the regular season 10-2, rising all the way to No. 6 in the rankings, and finishing 11-2.
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Gators QB Aaron Philo is thriving and averaging 240 yards per game while completing over 73-percent of his passes. But the ground game is where Florida is really excelling.
Jadan Baugh already has an FBS-leading eight rushing touchdowns in just three games and is averaging a whopping 8.5 yards per carry.
Suffice it to say, there’s plenty of reasons for fans to believe that the party in Oxford, Mississippi may come to a screeching halt tomorrow.
