First-year Florida coach Jon Sumrall knows his team better than anyone, an unbeaten group who cracked the AP Top 25 this week. However, he's not ready to label the No. 21 Gators one of the SEC's feel-good stories just yet, especially after oddsmakers installed Florida as a 3.5-point betting favorite in Saturday's showdown against fourth-ranked Ole Miss.
"Who's got us favored against these guys? Do they? There's a lot of good drugs out there," Sumrall said Monday. "I did talk to our team about rankings in Week 4 mean nothing. Nobody posts anything up in the building about this year's team and where we're ranked in Week 4. Nobody cares."
Florida piled up 495 yards of total offense and 44 points in last Saturday night's win at Auburn, while the Rebels opened up a 17-point lead on LSU before winning in the fourth quarter thanks to Trinidad Chambliss' go-ahead touchdown run.
"The same pats you're getting if you go out and lay an egg, it'll be the same hands hitting you in the back with a knife in it. I tell our guys ignore all of that," Sumrall said. "The goal is how do we get to 1-0 each week. If we don't do self-improvement, we have no shot this week. Whoever's doing the (spread), didn't watch tape. They've got the best quarterback in college football, I think."
For Sumrall, this week's matchup in Gainesville offers an opportunity to break a downtrend against Ole Miss. Sumrall is 1-7 in his career against the Rebels as a player at Kentucky and various coaching stops, including two blowout losses last season to Ole Miss as the head coach at Tulane.
Sumrall vs. Ole Miss as a player, coach
| Season, school (position) | Result |
|---|---|
2000, Kentucky (linebacker) | L, 35-17 |
2005, Kentucky (graduate assistant) | L, 13-7 |
2006, Kentucky (GA) | W, 31-14 |
2012, Tulane (co-defensive coordinator) | L, 39-0 |
2021, Kentucky (co-DC) | L, 42-41 |
2022, Troy (head coach) | L, 28-10 |
2025, Tulane (head coach) | L, 45-10 |
2025, Tulane (head coach) | L, 41-10 |
Sumrall acknowledged the intimidating setting expected inside The Swamp, one of the nation's most raucous environments on game day.
"We may get added points in Vegas for the home-field advantage, like more than normal," Sumrall said. "It's a special place. I haven't coached an SEC game as a head coach in that stadium yet, but like, (when) we played FAU and Campbell, you go out and get ready for the Gator Walk for the FAU game, and you're like, 'holy cow, this is electric.'
"I fully expect our fanbase to be ready to go and create as much havoc as they possibly can to make this place a tough place to play when we play big games like this one."
The Gators are 54-26 at home since 2015 and have won three of their last five home games against top-25 teams.
Florida generating explosive plays
The Gators' new-look offense under coordinator Buster Faulkner is scoring points in bunches thanks to running back Jadan Baugh, who leads the SEC in rushing after three games, and Georgia Tech transfer quarterback Aaron Philo.
Baugh is averaging just under nine yards per carry with eight touchdowns, coming off his third consecutive 100-yard outing. Philo has contributed 721 yards passing and six scores, highlighted by a completion rate of 73.4%. He's only been sacked twice behind an offensive front that has kept the Gators on schedule.
Florida's rushing attack against the Ole Miss front seven is the matchup to watch in this one, considering the Rebels' struggles early on defense. Despite wins over Louisville and LSU, Ole Miss is surrendering an SEC-worst 159 yards per game on the ground and has already given up a dozen plays of 10 or more yards against the run.
