Jon Sumrall, Florida Gators Already SEC Dark Horses in Year 1
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The Florida Gators have widely been considered a sleeping giant in the last few years.
Florida has all the resources to be a national title contender, but over the last few years, they struggled, as Billy Napier wasn’t the right coach for the program. After firing Napier, the Gators made a risky hire in Jon Sumrall.
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Sumrall, like Napier, came from the Group of Five, as he was the head coach of Tulane, so many fans thought he could be similar to Napier, who didn’t pan out.
Yet, in just three weeks, the hiring looks like a slam dunk, as Florida is a dark horse in the SEC and the Gators could be a playoff team.
Florida went on the road to play the Auburn Tigers in Week 3, as it was a test to see which of the Gators and Tigers were the real dark horse. Both programs had new coaches and quarterbacks and have looked good to begin the year.
Yet the Gators went on the road and pulled off a thrilling 44-39 win over Auburn to improve to 3-0. This was Florida’s first real opponent, as they beat Florida Atlantic and Campbell in the first two weeks.
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Against Auburn, quarterback Aaron Philo was solid as he went 15-of-22 for 204 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. The Gators offense is led by running back Jadan Baugh, who rushed for 162 yards and 3 touchdowns in the win.
Philo is a game manager, which isn’t a knock, as he does what is needed to win and won’t make too many mistakes. The Gators’ offensive line looked solid against Auburn as they were able to open up holes for Baugh to rush through.
In Florida’s first test against Auburn, the Gators passed with flying colors. Now, however, they will host the Ole Miss Rebels next Saturday in a pivotal SEC game. Ole Miss is coming off an emotional win over the LSU Tigers, so there could be a letdown, which could allow Florida to pick them off.
Even if Florida loses, they have the talent to likely go 9-3 with losses ot Texas and Georgia, which would be a great first year for Sumrall and something to build on going forward.
Jon Sumrall Sees One Issue for Florida Gators
Although Jon Sumrall won his first SEC game as the head coach of the Florida Gators, he wasn’t happy with his team.
The Gators took 16 penalties against Auburn, but were still able to deal with that to get the win. However, Sumrall knows the team has to take fewer penalties if they are going to win more SEC games.
“The penalties were out of control,” Sumrall said postgame. “I mean, 16 penalties, we won’t win another game all year if we do that again. Not one more game. And so I got to get it cleaned up, as a staff got to get it cleaned up, got to play more disciplined. I didn’t agree with all of them, but still I’m not gonna let our guys off the hook, that’s inexcusable.”
In Week 1, Florida had just four penalties against FAU, which is what Sumrall expects from his team.
We had eight last week,” Sumrall said. “We had 16 (tonight), so I’m not a mathematician, so four to eight’s doubling them, and eight to 16 is doubling them again. If we don’t get that fixed and get back to how we were in Week 1, we are about to get absolutely embarrassed when we play high-end SEC teams.”
The Gators will host Ole Miss in Week 4 on Saturday, September 26.
Related: Dabo Swinney Only Has Himself To Blame For Clemson’s Struggles
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This story was originally published by Lindys Sports on Sep 20, 2026, where it first appeared in the College Football section. Add Lindys Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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