Jon Sumrall's Florida team reintroduces itself to the SEC with upset of No. 4 Ole Miss
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Jon Sumrall's Florida team reintroduces itself to the SEC with upset of No. 4 Ole Miss originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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It might be the year 2026, but for the Florida Gators, it's starting to feel a little bit like it's the 1990s again. New Gator head coach Jon Sumrall got his first-ever signature win on Saturday, as his team took down the No. 4 Ole Miss Rebels 52-28 at home in The Swamp.
With the victory, the Gators took advantage of a banged up Ole Miss team that came off of an emotional win over LSU last week.
Here's what Florida's win over Ole Miss means for the Gators, and how Florida could make some noise in the SEC this season.
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Welcome back to the SEC, Gators
Since Urban Meyer left in 2010, Florida has been wildly inconsistent. The Gators cycled through head coaches Will Muschamp, Jim McElwain, Dan Mullen and Billy Napier, and played in just two SEC title games, losing both.
Enter Sumrall, who hasn't had a season worse than nine wins across his last five seasons at Troy and Tulane. The 44-year-old head coach's energy has been infectious since arriving in Gainesville nine months ago. His hire of offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner, who brought quarterback Aaron Philo with him from Georgia Tech, also made noise this offseason.
Florida beat Auburn on the road last week to reach 3-0, but the Gators' 138 penalty yards nearly allowed the game slip away. Florida hadn't beaten a notable opponent yet, so nationally it was still a wait-and-see approach with just how good this Florida team is.
Florida was listed as a 3.5-point home favorite against Trinidad Chambliss and company. Apparently the Las Vegas oddsmakers, whom Sumrall described as "there's some really good drugs out there" this week were on to something.
Florida won 52-28 in a game that featured a smash-mouth rushing attack that had The Swamp rocking like it did when Emmitt Smith was still playing in Gainesville. The Gators finished with 294 yards on the ground, led by Heisman contender Jadan Baugh.
The Decatur, Ga. native finished with 29 carries for 142 yards and three touchdowns. In fact, Baugh became just the the third Gators back in school history to reach five straight games with 100-plus rush yards, joining Smith and Fred Taylor.
Equally impressive on the ground was sophomore running back Duke Clark, who had 12 carries for 126 yards and a touchdown, averaging 10.5 yards per carry. But the Gators weren't all that one-dimensional, as Philo threw for 196 yards and a touchdown.
The Gators led 17-6 at halftime, but Chambliss led the offense right down the field to open the second half on a five-play, 80-play scoring drive that cut Florida's lead to three. Both offenses traded touchdowns in the third quarter, and Florida's 92 penalty yards helped keep Ole Miss in the game through the third quarter.
But a Chambliss fumble gave the Gators the ball back early in the fourth, setting up another Florida scoring drive that made it 38-21. The Gators added two more touchdowns to put the game out of reach, and Chambliss threw an interception on Ole Miss' last possession of the day.
The Gators made sure to honor the likes of Steve Spurrier, whose name is on the field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, by scoring touchdowns on each of their five consecutive drives in the second half.
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What this win means for Florida
Florida is now 4-0 for the first time since 2019. The Gators were far from perfect, even though the final score might suggest otherwise. Not to mention Ole Miss was without star running back Kewan Lacy, who was kept out with a shoulder injury. The Rebels also had to regroup after a huge win over LSU last week.
But the Gators proved that this is a team that can hang with the SEC's contenders. That being said, Florida's remaining schedule is still pretty daunting. Next week, the Gators go on the road to play No. 19 Missouri before getting South Carolina at home. Florida then goes on the road to face No. 1 Texas, and a bye before playing No. 2 Georgia in Atlanta.
Florida closes out its schedule with Oklahoma, Kentucky on the road, Vanderbilt and in-state rival Florida State on the road. It's far from early to call the Gators a College Football Playoff contender just yet, especially considering that Florida's defense has given up 799 yards in the last two weeks and has been penalized 24 times.
But Sumrall has this Florida program rolling early. He's proving that he might bring the Gators back to being legitimate SEC contenders sooner than we initially thought.
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