Florida shows it can finish with another second-half closeout and a makeshift dunk contest

By MARK LONG The Associated Press

Florida wide receiver Aidan Mizell (11) performs a celebratory dunk using a basketball backboard placed on the Mississippi sideline after their 24-17 win in an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, in Gainesville, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)[ASSOCIATED PRESS/Phelan M. Ebenhack]

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Florida found something in the Swamp the last two weeks. The Gators showed they can close out games. They held high-scoring and ninth-ranked Ole Miss to three points in the second half of a 24-17 victory Saturday. It came a week after Florida held LSU to two field goals in the final 30 minutes of a 27-16 victory in the Swamp. “Finishing” is something that had mostly eluded the Gators in the past two years. Florida dropped four games in 2023 after leading in the second half and faded down the stretch in losses to Tennessee and Georgia earlier this season. Receiver Chimere Dike says “eventually you get sick of that.”