Florida HC Jon Sumrall Admits Gators Have Serious Problem Brewing
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The Florida Gators went from College Football Playoff contenders by the end of September to entering fraudulent territory in mid-October after the team suffered one of the most humiliating losses in recent history.
The Gators ballooned to a No. 8 ranking after beating then-No. 4 Ole Miss 52-28 on Sept. 26. Florida was blown out on the road against Missouri last week, suffering a 45-17 defeat. Given the emotions of the win against the Rebels the week before, the Gators would have been quickly forgiven had they dominated South Carolina on Saturday.
The Gamecocks entered Saturday's game with questions about the direction of the program under head coach Shane Beamer, as USC had lost three consecutive SEC games to start conference play.
South Carolina pounced at the opportunity to get after a Gators team that had been exposed against the Tigers, and they blew out Florida 38-19 in front of 90,311 fans at "The Swamp."
During his postgame news conference, Gators head coach Jon Sumrall told reporters that the same mistakes that haunted the team earlier in the season were a problem again on Saturday. He said Florida has been "exposed in a pretty substantial way" in the loss to South Carolina.
Those issues could wind up derailing the season if the coaching staff is unable to come up with solutions to fix the problems.
The lone issue the Gators corrected on Saturday was penalties. UF was penalized five times for 30 yards, an improvement over recent weeks. But the secondary was awful, allowing embattled Gamecocks quarterback LaNorris Sellers to throw for 279 yards and four touchdowns.
The running game was less than efficient for Florida. Jadan Baugh, who was limited to 13 yards on 12 carries against Mizzou, rushed for 59 yards and a score on 15 carries against USC. UF rushed 38 times for 120 yards on Saturday.
Neither Aaron Philo nor Tramel Jones Jr. appears ready to lead Florida through the SEC schedule. Philo finished 21 of 28 passing for 227 yards and one interception. Jones went 6 of 8 passing for 40 yards and an interception.
Again, Florida's effort on Saturday came against a South Carolina team that had serious questions about retaining Beamer for next season. There was chatter the Gamecocks could make a move after Saturday's contest as USC is headed for its bye week.
Instead, Sumrall's staff was outcoached. Sumrall and his staff know what the issues are with Florida, but the Gators have been unable to correct those issues.
Florida is now 4-2. The Gators will next travel to play a Texas program that was upset 27-24 by Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry on Saturday.
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