Sumrall’s signature win, Buster keeps Auburn off balance, Trinidad is coming | Thing we learned

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Florida opened SEC play with a flourish, going on the road and handing Auburn a 44-39 loss to start the season 3-0 for the first time since 2019 to continue the Gators’ early success under first-year coach Jon Sumrall.

Here are five things learned:

Sumrall gets signature win

The Gators’ passionate and personable coach enjoyed this one.

Sumrall high-fived Florida fans who’d made the trip and signed autographs. He sang the school’s alma mater with his players as the band player in a corner of Jordan-Hare Stadium, where most of a sold-out crowd 88,043 left disappointed.

Later on his X account, the 44-year-old Alabama native posted lyrics of country music songwriter Riley Green: “She grew up in Alabama, she cheers for the Gators” — a nod to Sumrall’s wife and Auburn alum, Ginny.

Florida’s first win at Auburn since 1999 under Steve Spurrier — after losses in 2001, 2006 and 2011 — was one to celebrate and build on. Everyone knew how much it meant to go on the road and beat a longtime rival and rebuilding program pushing for a big win — no one more than Sumrall.

Buster Faulkner kept Auburn off balance

The Gators delivered an offensive coordinator’s dream performance, finishing with 252 yards passing and 243 on the ground while controlling the ball for 39:16.

The mix kept Auburn’s defense guessing and opened up the playbook for Faulkner. Consider his bold call with Florida leading 14-10 in the second quarter and facing third-and-8 from its 39.

Quarterback Aaron Philo flipped a lateral screen pass behind the line of scrimmage to wide receiver Kahleil Jackson. The former high school quarterback at Hawthorne lofted a deep pass downfield, where tight end Amir Jackson made a diving, over-the-shoulder grab for a 48-yard gain to the Auburn 13-yard line, setting up a Florida field goal.

Faulkner didn’t have to rely on trickery much of the night, as his attack repeatedly outwitted and outexecuted the Tigers to finish with 495 yards and keep the good times rolling. Florida converted 10 times in 18 tries on third and fourth down, including all three of its fourth-down attempts.

A 53-yard touchdown run by Jadan Baugh on fourth-and-1 pushed Florida’s lead to 41-24 early in the fourth quarter to suck the air out of Jordan-Hare. On fourth-and-five at the Auburn 37, Philo found running back Duke Clark for nine yards to set up a field goal to give Florida a 44-32 lead with 2:43 remaining, leaving the Tigers two touchdowns behind.

Since arriving from Georgia Tech, Faulkner has lived up to his billing and is earning his hefty $2.1 million salary.

A season after finishing last in the SEC with an average of 21.6 points, the Gators have scored 54 per game and average 7.97 per play — second to Georgia in both categories in the 16-team league.

Baugh is unstoppable

Baugh went into Jordan-Hare Stadium and delivered another virtuoso performance, rekindling memories of Auburn legend Bo Jackson with his combination of power and breakaway speed.

Scoring runs of two, 33 and 53 yards highlighted Baugh’s 162-yard night on 26 carries and marked his fourth straight 100-yard game, dating to his 266-yard day against Florida State to close the 2025 season. At the end of his 33-yard run, Baugh struck in a Heisman pose.

While it’s early, Baugh is setting a torrid pace and putting his name in the conversation as college football’s top individual honor. The 6-foot, 222-pound junior leads the SEC with 458 rushing yards and eight touchdowns on just 54 carries, an average of 8.5 yards an attempt.

Baugh’s average of 153 rushing yards a game ranks second nationally to Duke’s Nate Sheppard (176 ypg) and is not far behind Jackson’s historic 1985 season, when he averaged 162.4 yards to win the Heisman.

Florida’s defense showed an edge

The Gators ultimately could not contain Auburn quarterback Byrum Brown, who accounted for 336 total yards of his team’s 373 yards and kept the Tigers close.

Brown’s 21-yard touchdown run cut Florida’s lead to 41-32 with 6:10 remaining. His 35-yard touchdown to Chas Nimrod on fourth-and-13 with 24 seconds to go gave the Tigers’ a chance until Florida recovered an onside kick.

But Florida also harrassed Brown plenty behind breakout performances by sophomore edge rushed Jayden Woods and transfer end Emmanuel Oyebadejo, who combined for five sacks.

One of the nation’s most explosive athletes, the 6-foot-3, 245-pound Woods entered the game with just a half-sack in two games, but totaled a career-high 3.5 tackles for loss and nearly matched his freshman sack total of 3.5.

Oyebadejo, a 6-foot-6, 303-pound Jacksonville State transfer, was questionable with an ankle injury but looked 100 percent while recording his first sacks at Florida.

Brad White’s unit has plenty to tighten up, but two freakishly athletic players off the edge give Florida’s defensive coordinator a good place to start.

Trinidad is coming

Within an hour of the Gators closing out a huge road win, Ole Miss quarterback Trindad Chambliss polished off an emotional and pitoval win against LSU and former Rebels coach Lane Kiffin.

Chambliss now looks to lead Ole Miss past the Gators Saturday in the Swamp.

Perhaps no quarterback has been better the past 12 months than the Rebels’ 6-foot-1, 205-pound dual-threat playmaker. White’s defense will have to be on point to keep him in check.

The Gators call ill-afford another sloppy performance, either. Florida committed 16 penalties for 138 yards after drawing seven flags for 75 yards a week earlier during the second half of a 52-3 walkover of Campbell.

Against LSU, he threw for 363 passing and two touchdowns and ran for the game-winning 14-yard score.

Chambliss will face his own challenge with one of the sport’s most challenging environments. He also could be without All-SEC tailback Kewan Lacy, who left Saturday’s game with an injured left shoulder after rushing for 43 yards and a touchdown on nine carries.

But a season after leading Ole Miss to the College Football Playoff seminfinals, Chambliss proven time and again he’s made for the moment.

Edgar Thompson can be reached at egthompson@orlandosentinel.com

Up next

What: Ole Miss (3-0) at UF (3-0)

When: 3:30 p.m., Saturday

Where:Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Gainesville

TV: ABC

Favorite: Florida by 1.5 points

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