GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Coach Billy Napier and his team did something no one at Florida had done in nearly two decades. It could be the turning point for a once-proud program that clearly slipped in recent years.

DJ Lagway threw two touchdown passes, Montrell Johnson ran for 127 yards and a score, and the Gators upset No. 9 Mississippi 24-17 on Saturday to knock the Rebels out of College Football Playoff contention.

Florida (6-5, 4-4 Southeastern Conference), which topped LSU last Saturday in the Swamp, beat ranked teams in consecutive weeks for the first time since 2008.

“We’re just getting started,” said Napier, who is expected back for a fourth season in 2025. “This is part of the big-picture journey. Belief is the most powerful thing in the world.”

Ole Miss (8-3, 4-3), which was a 10-point favorite, lost for the first time in four games and will drop out of the 12-team playoff picture. The Rebels ranked ninth in the latest CFP and needed only to avoid a letdown against Florida and lowly Mississippi State to clinch a spot in the playoff field.

“Obviously a lot was at stake, and we didn’t come through,” coach Lane Kiffin said. “A lot of missed opportunities.”

The Rebels failed to score in three trips inside the red zone and dropped countless passes in perfect weather, miscues Kiffin called “very unusual.”

Still, Ole Miss had chances late. But Jaxson Dart threw interceptions to end the team’s last two drives. Bryce Thornton, beaten for a touchdown in the first half, picked off both. The second one came with 17 seconds remaining and set up a raucous celebration by defenders in the end zone.

Dart completed 24 of 41 passes for 323 yards, with two TDs and the two picks. He was sacked four times and also scrambled 14 times for a team-high 71 yards.

“You look at the way we played, we had a chip on our shoulder for sure,” defensive tackle Cam Jackson said.

The Rebels probably would have had a comfortable lead had it not been for repeated failures inside the 20-yard line. Defensive tackle J.J. Pegues, a 325-pound wrecking ball out of the backfield, was stopped on two fourth-down runs inside the 20-yard line, and Caden Davis missed a 34-yard field goal in the second quarter.

Ole Miss’ drops were egregious, including at least three that probably would have been touchdowns.