The No. 5 Ole Miss Rebels travel to Gainesville, Florida, on Saturday to face the No. 21 Florida Gators in one of the week’s marquee SEC matchups, and for once the usual bad blood between conference rivals is nowhere to be found.
Florida head coach Jon Sumrall set the tone Monday when he was told at a press conference that his team was favored by 3.5 points. His response: “There’s a lot of good drugs out there.”
The remark set off what fans on both sides are now calling a “respect off,” complete with its own hashtag, #RespectOff, as Gators and Rebels supporters traded goodwill on social media all week instead of the usual insults.
The mood stands in sharp contrast to what both programs experienced just a week earlier. Ole Miss carried real animosity into its game against LSU, which had hired away the Rebels’ former coach. Florida and Auburn, meanwhile, spent last week reviving a rivalry that stretches back a century.
Florida and Ole Miss have their own history that could have fueled tension. Florida pursued Lane Kiffin last fall, and Ole Miss was the team that beat Florida in The Swamp in 2008, a loss that prompted Tim Tebow’s now-famous “promise” speech. Neither program appears interested in relitigating any of it this week.
Whether the good feelings survive the final whistle is another matter. Both teams have SEC Championship and College Football Playoff hopes riding on Saturday’s outcome, and the loser is unlikely to be in a forgiving mood come Sunday.
