Field Level Media
Sep 26, 2020
Kyle Trask threw six touchdown passes as No. 5 Florida spoiled the debut of Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin by rolling to a 51-35 victory Saturday in the season opener for both SEC teams in Oxford, Miss.
Four of Trask's touchdown passes went to potential All-American tight Kyle Pitts, who caught eight passes for 170 yards. They connected on a 71-yard score less than a minute into the second half and finished the Gators' scoring with a 17-yard throw that Pitts snagged in the end zone amid double coverage for a 51-29 lead with 5:14 left in the game.
Trask completed 30 of 42 passes for 416 yards with no interceptions.
Offense wasn't an issue for Ole Miss under Kiffin, hired in the offseason from Florida Atlantic. He mostly went with quarterback Matt Corral, who completed 22 of 31 passes for 395 yards, with three touchdowns and one interception. He directed the Rebels to 613 yards and a final-minute touchdown that provided the final margin. Wide receiver Elijah Moore caught 10 passes for 227 yards.
Trask's six touchdown passes are tied for the most in an SEC opener, set last season by LSU's Joe Burrow against Vanderbilt. Florida's 642 yards set a school record for an SEC game.
Corral entered the game listed as a co-starter with John Rhys Plumlee. They saw time together early in the game, with the speedy Plumlee taking some direct snaps and catching one pass for 6 yards. Corral took over from there.
Florida's Evan McPherson made all three of his field-goal attempts, including a career-long 55-yarder. Kadarius Toney had 59 yards receiving with one touchdown and a team-high 55 yards rushing.
Florida led 28-14 after an entertaining first half in which Ole Miss receiver Dontario Drummond caught touchdown passes of 46 and 14 yards. But the Rebels left points on the field by failing to convert fourth-and-3 on their opening drive, and Corral was intercepted late in the first quarter when his pass was deflected at the line into the hands of defensive tackle Gervon Dexter at the Florida 14.
Florida scored two touchdowns in the final 3:10 of the half, including a 16-yard throw to Pitts with five seconds left before intermission.
--Field Level Media