OXFORD - Even with a three victories in four games, Mississippi gave little indication it was capable of knocking off Florida.
There was no sign leading up to the game that the Rebels were capable of harassing and frustrating quarterback Rex Grossman. But Mississippi intercepted Grossman four times.
There was little to suggest the Rebels could stop the Gators' running game and neutralize star wide receiver Taylor Jacobs. And when Florida went 98 yards on 11 plays for a touchdown just before halftime, it seemed likely that Florida would score again.
But the same Mississippi defense that could barely slow down Vanderbilt in its last game led the way to a 17-14 victory over Florida on Saturday, vaulting Ole Miss into the national rankings for the first time in two years.
The Rebels are ranked 25th in the AP poll released Sunday.
"We believed. We believed in ourselves," safety Matt Grier said. "We knew we had a defense even if nobody else thought so. We knew we could play the way we played today."
On a day when the defense supplied all the big plays, Grier made the biggest, returning his second interception of the third quarter 24 yards for the go-ahead touchdown.
Grier's first interception set up the Rebels' first score.
Through much of coach David Cutcliffe's four-year tenure, the Rebels have been searching for the right defensive formula.
Ole Miss has had a different defensive coordinator each of the last three seasons. This year, the man on the spot is Chuck Driesbach, whom Cutcliffe hired away from TCU.
Driesbach installed a 4-2-5 system he claimed was better suited to capitalize on the Rebels' speed and help mask their lack of size up front.
There were glimmers of hope in the first two games this season against Louisiana-Monroe and Memphis.
In a 42-28 loss at Texas Tech, special teams play and turnovers were the main culprits. However, the defense didn't distinguish itself, either.
And when Vanderbilt erased a 21-point fourth-quarter deficit and nearly knocked off Ole Miss at home two weeks ago, it looked as if little had changed since last season when the Rebels had the worst run defense in the SEC.
Driesbach shook things up during the off week, benching both starting cornerbacks and inserting Travis Blanchard and Travis Johnson. Middle linebacker Eddie Strong also returned to the lineup after missing nearly all the first four games with a sprained ankle.
All three played a major role in the victory.
Blanchard and Johnson had interceptions and helped hold Jacobs to five catches for 80 yards.
Strong had six tackles and sacked Grossman on a fourth-and-long in Ole Miss territory to end a fourth-quarter threat.
Jacobs paid the Rebels the highest compliment.
"They used Miami's game plan and it looked exactly like Miami's defense," he said referring to the Gators' 41-16 loss to the Hurricanes in September. "They had a guy on top of me the whole game."
Grossman also praised the hard-hitting Rebels.
"They almost killed some of our guys," Grossman said.
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