GAINESVILLE, FLa. - If Jim McElwain goes on to have as good a career as the last Florida coach who started 5-0, happy times might be back in Gainesville.
Dominating every phase of Saturday night's Southeastern Conference showdown, the 25th-ranked Gators waxed No. 3 Ole Miss 38-10 at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in perhaps their biggest win since Urban Meyer was presiding over national championships in 2006 and 2008.
Quarterback Will Grier completed 24-of-29 passes for 271 yards and four touchdowns - all in the first half - as Florida raced to a 25-0 halftime lead and cruised through the second half.
"They are playing the game the way it should be played, and that's good for me," McElwain said.
McElwain is the first Gators coach to win his first five games since Steve Spurrier did it in 1990, heralding the beginning of a 12-year stretch that included a national championship in 1996 and an offense that helped change college football.
In recent years, the Gators' offense changed nothing except coaches. Will Muschamp was dismissed late last season and McElwain, the former Colorado State coach who served as Nick Saban's offensive coordinator on Alabama's 2011 national-championship squad, took the reins in late December.
So far, so good for McElwain and his new team, particularly in a first half where Florida (5-0, 3-0 SEC) never let the Rebels gain any kind of traction.
"Our guys took it to them," McElwain said.
Grier started the onslaught with a 36-yard scoring strike to wide receiver Demarcus Robinson at the 9:09 mark of the first quarter. Five plays after Ole Miss running back Jaylen Walton lost a fumble at the Rebels' 24, Grier flipped a 2-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jake McGee.
Wide receiver Brandon Powell upped the advantage to 19-0 with 6:53 left in the first half, taking a short pass, breaking a tackle and racing 77 yards down the right sideline. Grier finished off a 224-yard first half with 20 seconds remaining, firing a 15-yard touchdown strike to wide receiver Antonio Callaway that capped a 91-yard drive.
Meanwhile, Florida's defense stuffed the Rebels' offense, which entered the game averaging 54.8 points per game. Ole Miss managed just 151 first half yards and went 1-for-6 on 3rd down conversions, unable to keep the Gators' front seven from penetrating the backfield.
"Our guys did a good job against them on 1st-and-10 (of) putting them behind the sticks, not letting them play the way they want to play," McElwain said. "The energy in that stadium really affected their offense."
Florida upped its lead to 38-3 midway through the fourth quarter before the Rebels (4-1, 2-1) managed a garbage-time touchdown on a 7-yard pass from quarterback Chad Kelly to wide receiver Markell Pack.
Kelly connected on 26-of-40 passes for 259 yards, but tossed an interception and lost a fumble to account for half of Ole Miss' four turnovers.
"Another team that wasn't quite ready for that crowd noise," McGee said. "The second half, we didn't have to do much because we had the best defense in the country with you. Just let them do their thing."
NOTES: Florida LG Tripp Thurman (shoulder) got the start even though the coaches weren't sure he'd be able to play earlier in the week. ... Ole Miss PK Gary Wunderlich missed a 29-yard field goal attempt in the second quarter, only his second career miss from less than 50 yards. ... The Gators scored two touchdowns in the first quarter of an SEC game for the first time since Sept. 24, 2011, at Kentucky.
