Florida earned a much needed 44-39 win at Auburn Saturday night. This result was huge for many reasons – Jon Sumrall’s program, the confidence of a team not used to winning big games under Basement Billy, injecting life and juice into the fan base, and putting the rest of the SEC on notice that Florida must be reckoned with again.
The game wasn’t pretty at times, with the Gators committing 16 penalties (some very dubious), while the defense struggled to get off the field on 3rd and 4th down too often and did a poor job of closing out the 4th quarter. While disappointing, I can’t say I’m shocked, given the poor coaching and losing mentality left behind by Rural Meyer. Many of these current Gators had little starting experience in such a tough environment, nerves were certainly a factor, and the O-line and secondary have been rebuilt. But after 60 minutes it was clear that Florida was the superior team, and the game itself wasn’t as close as the final score.
Buster Faulkner has to be the early front-runner for National Assistant Coach of the Year. He completely schooled Auburn DC DJ Durkin, as the Gators rolled up 495 yards of offense, which included 200+ rushing yards against a solid SEC defense and only one punt. Faulkner’s playcalling and scheme were quick, decisive, and aggressive – all of which have been missing in Gainesville for far too long. QB Aaron Philo was sharp, making good reads and throws even when taking some big hits. He looked calm and in command all night, and has ended any concerns about the offseason battle for the starting job. Jaden Baugh had 162 yards and 3 rushing TDs, again showing why he is in the conversation for best RB in the SEC and starting to receive national attention. Notably, it appears that Duke Clark has solidified the RB2 slot, as he delivered two massive clutch plays – breaking multiple tackles for a TD on 3rd and goal from the 20, and then catching a 4th down pass to extend Florida’s last scoring possession in the 4th quarter, which led to a 12-point lead with under 11 minutes left – enough for the defense to protect despite it’s letdown. WRs VB3 and Dallas Wilson were open all night and had quite a few chunk plays, including a TD reception by Wilson on a beautiful seam route. The Gator O-line held up well enough despite some annoying procedure penalties and some occasional shoddy pass-blocking by the tackles. Finally, the offense ran up-tempo for much of the night, not allowing Auburn to substitute as often as it wished and simplifying the defenses it had to face – what a concept! It’s funny to think of how a 44 point explosion on the road could leave room for improvement, but there’s still plenty to work on – especially for the OL. Quite the turnaround from the last 4 years of mostly slow-paced, poorly played, unimaginative garbage.
Florida’s defense was a weird dichotomy of big plays combined with mental and physical letdowns that allowed Auburn to stay closer than it should have. Cormani McClain made a huge interception on Auburn’s first drive to set up Florida’s opening score and gain momentum. The front seven controlled the Tiger running game less some scramble plays from QB Byrum Brown. The D-line racked up 7 sacks led by Emmanuel Oyebadejo, who looked like a man amongst boys. His performance shows what can happen when opponents have to focus on Jayden Woods, who had 2.5 sacks of his own despite many double-teams. The Gators allowed only 212 yards through 3 quarters before a sloppy finish allowed Auburn to rack up 160 yards and 2 TDs in the last 10 minutes. That required the offense to continue to grind out some first downs and a late FG to keep the lead safe. The secondary is still letting receivers get wide open too often, and the LBs have been mysteriously quiet. DC Brad White really needs to simplify things and play a more aggressive style, because this is not sustainable against the better teams left on the schedule.
Special teams were solid again. PK Patrick Durkin converted his 2 FG attempts and is still perfect on the season, and 7 of his 9 kickoffs were touchbacks. Punter Alec Clark might be the loneliest man in college football, getting only his third punt attempt of the season late in the 4th quarter when the Gators were simply running time off the clock to preserve a 12-point lead. VB3’s only punt return went for over 20 yards, but was called back due to a bad penalty away from the play.
I’ve listed a lot of issues for the staff and players to work on, but I haven’t lost sight of the fact that this game was a massive boost for the program and what Jon Sumrall is trying to build. Auburn is not near the elite teams left on the schedule, but winning on the Plains, rolling up 44 points, and actually earning an important win gives the players confidence in both themselves and the coaching staff. There are much bigger challenges ahead, but positive results like this can build momentum and give some juice to the team and Gator Nation. Getting a winning feeling back and actually having fun playing the games has been missing since 2020. Things start to get really interesting next week, with the Gators hosting Ole Miss In a battle of unbeatens with much of the nation watching – as it should be.