What can Jon Sumrall achieve in 1st season as Florida football coach?

How will the Jon Sumrall era live on in Florida football history? With about a month to go before the Gators kick off the 2026 season, the biggest hope for now is that it's at least an improvement over the Billy Napier one.

The plug got pulled on Napier seven games into his fourth season, a barrier that no UF coach has crossed since Urban Meyer. The Gators haven't been in the College Football Playoff rankings since Dan Mullen coached them to the 2020 SEC championship game.

To turn that around, maybe a coach freshly removed from leading Tulane to the CFP will help. He knows he's got a stud at running back in Jadan Baugh, he of 1,170 yards and eight touchdowns in what was otherwise a dismal 4-8 campaign. Who starts at quarterback is a whole different manner: Georgia Tech transfer Aaron Philo is one of six transfers projected as starters at Ourlads, but redshirt freshman Tramell Jones Jr. could just as easily win the job.

There's still time to decide who best fits in new offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner's Air Raid scheme. The first two games of the season will (barring disaster the likes of the South Florida loss last season) serve as mere tune-ups for the SEC opener at Auburn and former USF two-way QB Byrum Brown. Then it's the big early test: a showdown with Trinidad Chambliss, Kewan Lacy and an Ole Miss team fresh off a CFP semifinal appearance.

If the Gators can tread water through the gauntlet of Texas, Georgia (in Atlanta as Jacksonville updates its stadium) and Oklahoma, there's hope they could lock down a solid bowl résumé against Florida State on Black Friday. And hey, maybe UF can end the year back in the CFP rankings.

But let's not get ahead of ourselves. For now, let's take a look at Florida's schedule for the 2026 season, as well as the CFP schedule.

Florida football schedule 2026

All times Eastern.

• Saturday, Sept. 5: vs. Florida Atlantic | 7:45 p.m. | SEC Network
• Saturday, Sept. 12: vs. Campbell | 5:30 p.m. | SEC Network+
• Saturday, Sept. 19: at Auburn* | 7 p.m. | ESPN
• Saturday, Sept. 26: vs. Ole Miss* | TBD
• Saturday, Oct. 3: at Missouri* | TBD
• Saturday, Oct. 10: vs. South Carolina* | TBD
• Saturday, Oct. 17: at Texas* | TBD
• Saturday, Oct. 24: Open
• Saturday, Oct. 31: vs. Georgia (in Atlanta)* | 3:30 p.m. | ABC
• Saturday, Nov. 7: vs. Oklahoma* | TBD
• Saturday, Nov. 14: at Kentucky* | TBD
• Saturday, Nov. 21: vs. Vanderbilt* | TBD
• Friday, Nov. 27: at Florida State | 3:30 p.m. | ABC

*- SEC game

College Football Playoff schedule 2026

• Dec. 18-19: First round (on campuses)
• Dec. 30: Fiesta Bowl (quarterfinal) | 7:30 p.m. | TNT
• Jan. 1: Peach Bowl (quarterfinal) | TBD
• Jan. 1: Rose Bowl (quarterfinal) | TBD
• Jan. 1: Cotton Bowl (quarterfinal) | TBD
• Jan. 14: Orange Bowl (semifinal) | 7:30 p.m. | TNT
• Jan. 15: Sugar Bowl (semifinal) | 7:30 p.m. | ABC/ESPN
• Jan. 25: CFP national championship | 7:30 p.m. | ABC/ESPN

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: What can Jon Sumrall achieve in 1st season as Florida football coach?