Billy Napier put a Lane Kiffin-sized feather to his Florida football cap Saturday. The Gators not only upset 9th-ranked Ole Miss, they effectively ruined the Rebels' shot at the College Football Playoff.

Florida's running attack was surprisingly effective, gaining 184 yards against a defense was allowing on 79.9 yards a game. The passing attack mustered a so-so 180 yards, but DJ Lagway came up big when needed. It's never great when you have to punt seven times, but no Gator fan could complain about the end result.

A lot of bending, not much breaking against the high-flying Rebels. Jaxson Dart carved up the Gators for 321 passing yards and ran for 71 more. But UF made big stops when it had to. Most notable were a pair of fourth-and-1 stops inside the 12-yard line and two late interceptions. The Rebels got zero points out of three trips in the red zone. That explains how a team averaging 40.7 points a game was held to 17.

Solid enough. Jeremy Crawshaw averaged 46.7 yards on seven punts, Trey Smack nailed the lone field goal he attempted (a 52-yarder) and Ole Miss had minus-1 return yards on two punt returns.

Lane Who? Napier didn't say that afterward, but he had to take secret pleasure in beating the coach UF fans were clamoring for two months ago. Critics will say Napier's play-calling was too conservative in spots, but that's what a tight game called for. Nitpick if you want, but the win validated the vote of confidence UF gave Napier.

Florida had to avoid laying a Texas-sized egg to keep the positive late-season vibes going. It did more than that, derailing the Lane Train and giving 89,942 fans an exhilarating afternoon of football. It turned into a classic Swamp experience and the vibes should resonate long into the offseason.

David Whitley is The Gainesville Sun's sports columnist. Contact him at [email protected]. Follow him on X @DavidEWhitley