Sumrall’s Gators remain unbeaten after 44-39 thriller at Auburn

On Saturday, two coaches, certainly connected, faced each other at their new schools in the renewal of a historic rivalry.

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The fans in Auburn, Alabama, came out, leaning from ramps and peeking from tents to catch a glimpse of their new administrations, each in their first SEC duel of the year. This would answer an offseason’s worth of questions. The emotions of conference play, mixed with the vigor of proving something, a reemergence to contention — it all created an atmosphere so piercingly fit for the innocent weeks of a college football season, when teams and storylines are finding themselves.

Florida snuck by the namesake SEC rival 44-39 in their first meeting since 2019. It was a show of first-time SEC coaches Jon Sumrall and Alex Golesh, who go way back. Having coached at Tulane and USF in recent years, they faced one another. During last fall’s coaching cycle, they looked at many of the same schools. Sumrall settled in with the Gators (3-0) while Golesh chose Auburn (2-1).

“No bad wins. Always good to win,” Sumrall said. “We still have a lot to improve on. That’s not our best football.”

The display was most recognizable on offense, and the broadcast wasn’t subtle in suggesting what’s different about this Florida team. In 17 different instances, ESPN cut to a camera pinned on Florida offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner, so uncomfortably close the viewer could see his thoughts forming.

After years of screens with too few blockers and draws so scripted defenses would move both middle linebackers onto the line, Florida kept Auburn uneven. When quarterback Aaron Philo threw deep, it usually came after Auburn loaded the box to handle running back Jadan Baugh. Philo completed 15 of 22 passes, good for 204 yards in his first power conference test.

“I’ve been in the offense for three years now,” Philo said, having traveled from Georgia Tech with Faulkner. “I feel like I’ve been preparing for this moment for a long time.”

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Philo was only as productive as the soon-to-be All-American, Baugh, allowed, rushing for 162 yards and three touchdowns, including a 53-yard burst in the fourth. “Another day at the office,” he said. Most inspiring: Florida scored on all but three drives, a feat previous coach Billy Napier didn’t achieve against an FCS opponent. “I had no doubt how we were going to play on offense,” Sumrall said confidently. And his defense, at times, appeared loosely passable. Edge rushers Jayden Woods and Emmanuel Odebadejo each added 2.5 sacks, aiding a secondary that had a difficult night.

The concern remains that, well, this was a five-point game that required a safely recovered on-side kick in the last half minute. By the time Auburn quarterback Byrum Brown threw his third touchdown to Chas Nimrod seconds earlier, Florida’s defense had allowed 373 total yards, and the Gators collectively tallied 16 penalties. For all his faults, Napier never produced that sort of mess.

“If we play like that, we will get just slaughtered,” Sumrall said, looking toward the coming weeks. But this was a necessary step, no matter how messy, under the lights and pressure of the beast known as SEC play.

So he thought, then added: “We’re going to get there.” And for the first time in a while, Florida could believe it.

Next up is Ole Miss, which was ranked eighth in the AP Poll before Saturday’s victory against former coach Lane Kiffin and LSU.

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