Florida’s rough 38-19 loss to South Carolina in Week 6 didn’t just leave Gators fans frustrated. It also reopened an old coaching what-if, one that had Auburn fans grumbling earlier in the season after Florida beat Auburn at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Week 3.
Back then, plenty of Tiger fans were angry at AD John Cohen for not landing Jon Sumrall in the last coaching cycle and instead going with Alex Golesh. Now, after Florida got blasted at home and coughed up three turnovers before never recovering after halftime, that debate looks a lot messier.
Sumrall did what coaches are supposed to do after a loss: he owned it.
"I'm frustrated with every part of what we did today, and it starts with me. I've got to do a better job of getting this team to play to its best," Sumrall said after the game.
That kind of accountability plays well on its own. But the bigger problem is that Sumrall was backed with major roster retention, which means Florida wasn’t supposed to be staring at the same kind of bare cupboard that eventually showed up on the Plains.
The catch is that he’s still responsible for the roster-building choices his staff made in the portal, and those choices are showing up in the results.
The most glaring one is at quarterback. Sumrall brought in offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner from Georgia Tech, and that move came with former Yellow Jackets quarterback Aaron Philo. Over the last two games, that decision has been a major reason the Gators have stalled.
When running back Jadan Baugh isn’t rolling, Philo hasn’t shown he can carry the offense with his arm. He can keep things on schedule, but he’s not the kind of quarterback who can rescue a broken play or flip a game with something special. That’s on Sumrall.
It’s not hard to see the parallel with Golesh. He brought in his USF offensive coordinator, Joel Gordon, and Bulls quarterback Byrum Brown, who has eight turnovers in his first four matchups against Power 4 competition.
Brown has been let down by an offensive line that hasn’t held up its end, but he hasn’t been clean enough in his reads and decisions either. The same basic criticism applies to Philo and the line in front of him.
So where does that leave Florida compared with Auburn? Pretty close to the same spot, with one key difference: the Gators at least have a head-to-head win on the résumé.
And just like Golesh, Sumrall is saying the right things. The problem is that fans in both places are past the point of caring much about good quotes after years of coaching that never quite delivered enough.
In Other News...
Ex-Auburn QB Holden Geriner's Pitt Buzz Faded Fast Under Pressure
Holden Geriners sudden rise at Pitt looked like one of those September detours that can change a season. After Mason Heintschel went down with a season-ending injury in Week 5, the former Auburn quarterback stepped in, helped the Panthers beat Virginia Tech and pushed Pitt into the AP Top 25 Poll, a jolt of momentum for a team trying to steady itself at the position.
The follow-up, though, was a reminder of why the job never looked fully settled. Pitt dropped its Week 6 game at North Carolina and slid out of the rankings, with Geriner throwing two interceptions and taking two sacks as the Panthers again ran into the sort of issues that have followed him before, especially with mobility and holding onto a starting role. For Pitt, the early buzz has cooled quickly, and the bigger question is whether Geriner is a bridge or something more lasting. [Read more 🡒]
Tennessee Still Has The Same QB Problem Auburn Just Exposed
Tennessees depth chart heading into the Arkansas game offered a clear look at how unsettled things still are under center. Faizon Brandon and George MacIntyre were listed as co-starters, a reflection of the uncertainty that has followed the Volunteers even after their recent win over Auburn, where the Tigers helped expose how shaky the quarterback picture can look when the pressure rises.
Josh Heupel has already acknowledged Brandons shoulder issue, and both quarterbacks remain available, which keeps the decision in motion rather than settled. For Auburn fans watching from a distance, the update is a reminder that the loss still carries some aftereffects for Tennessee, and that the Volunteers are carrying real questions into a crucial SEC stretch. [Read more 🡒]
Auburns Defensive Portal Class Is Already Raising One Big Concern
Five games into the season, Auburns defensive transfer class is starting to get a position-by-position audit, and the early picture is a mixed one. The defensive line has held up reasonably well, earning the strongest mark of the bunch at a B thanks in part to Cody Siglers contributions, while the edge rusher group has landed at a C+ as the Tigers keep looking for more consistent disruption off the edge.
The concern is showing up a level deeper in the defense, where the cornerback group has been graded C- because the transfer additions have not produced much so far. Linebacker and safety have also brought only limited impact from the portal, which leaves Auburn with one obvious question as the season settles in: whether the defensive additions can become more than just depth pieces before the schedule starts pressing harder. [Read more 🡒]