We'll be seeing ample Gator chomps the rest of the way this season. Coming out of Saturday's 52-28 statement win over previously unbeaten and No. 4 Ole Miss, the No. 21 Gators look the part in the early season College Football Playoff conversation and have a surging Heisman candidate leading their backfield in Jadan Baugh. Jon Sumrall is trying to become the fifth first-year coach all-time to reach the CFP in his first campaign.
He'd join four others across the Power Four to accomplish that feat, but would make history as the first from the SEC. The win for the Gators snapped a four-game losing skid against ranked competition and was Florida's first victory over a top-five opponent since 2020 (Georgia). The Gators had lost their previous 12 matchups against the nation's elite, and Sumrall joked that, coming into Saturday's showdown, his team has no business being favored against the Rebels.
The telling sign of a well-coached team with no signs of wilting is its ability to respond, and the Gators reflected that in the third quarter, absorbing body blows before punching back. Florida broke open a 24-21 game in the second half with consecutive touchdown drives predicated by the power running of Baugh and Duke Clark along with quarterback Aaron Philo's precision on third down. Ole Miss entered Week 4 with the SEC's worst rush defense, giving up 159 yards per game, and nothing changed inside Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
Baugh and Clark combined for 268 yards on the ground, both eclipsing the 100-yard barrier — the first time that's happened in the same game for Florida since 2022. That's part of the new identity Sumrall mentioned earlier this week. "I think our mindset has changed," Sumrall said.
"I think we're playing with a different level of resiliency and toughness than what I felt like was going on here when I got here. And I think our guys expect to win. So that's one component I think that I'm pleased with.
How we play the game, some detail, some consistency. "There's a lot of areas where you still have to improve upon a lot to become the type of team we want to be long term. And so we're a long way from a finished product here.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
