Lane Kiffin: 'A Lot Was at Stake' for Ole Miss vs. Florida; 'We Didn't Come Through'

Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin called Saturday's 27-14 loss to unranked Florida a "game with a lot of missed opportunities."

"Obviously, a lot was at stake, and we didn't come through," Kiffin told reporters after the loss.

Ole Miss headed into the game ranked 10th in the College Football Playoff bracket and ninth in the AP Top 25 poll. The Rebels could have secured a playoff spot by winning out over Florida and Mississippi State.

Following Saturday's upset, however, Kiffin and the Rebels are likely to miss out on the newly-expanded CFP.

"Go 0-for-3 in the red zone, get no points out of that missed field goal, get stopped twice on fourth downs, and lose the turnover margin," Kiffin said.

Ole Miss went into the halftime break tied 14-14 with Florida after multiple missed opportunities in the first half, including a failed fourth down attempt on the Florida 11-yard line and a missed field goal by Caden Davis from 34 yards out.

The Gators stopped Ole Miss again, this time on the Florida 10-yard line, to pull ahead in the third quarter.

Ole Miss got the ball back with three and a half minutes left on the clock, but quarterback Jaxson Dart was picked off by Bryce Thornton on both of the Rebels' final two drives of the game.

The Rebels finished the game having gone 3-for-14 on third downs and 2-for-4 on fourth downs, while committing three turnovers and recording a season-high five dropped passes.

Ole Miss also went 0-for-3 inside the red zone, while Florida was 2-for-2 within the 20-yard line.

The loss marked Ole Miss' third in SEC play, dropping the Revels out of a four-way tie in the conference standings. Georgia, Tennessee and Alabama remain locked with two SEC losses apiece, while Texas and Texas A&M sit atop the conference with one SEC loss each.

The Rebels return to action on Friday with a home game against Mississippi State. Ole Miss may have less to play for after Saturday's loss, but even potentially missing injured wideout Tre Harris, Kiffin's team will enter the matchup as favorites to defeat a program so far winless in SEC play.