Florida heads into its SEC opener at Auburn with one clear priority: make Byrum Brown work for everything.
A year after Brown walked into the Swamp and helped leave Florida stunned in an 18-16 loss to USF, the Gators now get another shot at the dual-threat quarterback - this time on the road, with Auburn handing him the keys to its conference debut after he followed coach Alex Golesh from USF to the Plains.
Brown was a problem all game long in that loss last season. He threw for 263 yards and added 66 on the ground, then delivered when it mattered most, completing passes of 29 and 12 yards on the winning march before using his legs for USF’s final 12 yards to set up the game-winning 20-yard field goal as time expired.
“When he’s got the ball in his hand, he’s a threat,” Florida defensive coordinator Brad White said Tuesday. “He throws a really nice deep ball. But you always gotta be mindful of him as a runner.
“You see guys try to arm tackle, and he runs right through those.”
That dual-threat element is exactly what makes Brown such a difficult assignment. Auburn has already hit 14 plays of 20 yards or more, a total tied for third in the SEC with several teams, including Florida, and Brown enters the week fourth in total offense with 600 yards, including 115 rushing.
Florida, though, has at least seen one path to slowing him down. Baylor’s opener against Auburn offered a rough blueprint for Brown, who was intercepted three times and sacked five times in that game. Even so, he still found a way to decide it late, scoring on an 11-yard run with 3:21 remaining in Auburn’s 18-17 win.
“Keeping him in the pocket, that’s big time,” Gators’ linebacker Myles Graham said Monday. “Rushers, when they rush, keep having their eyes on him at all times.
Don’t rush past the level of the quarterback. Make sure you keep your eyes on him.”
That means Florida’s pass rush has to show up in a way it hasn’t consistently yet. Through one-sided wins over FAU and Campbell, the Gators have only four sacks, and only two SEC teams have fewer.
The explanations for that have varied. FAU’s tempo didn’t give Florida much time to get home in a 66-21 rout, while Campbell leaned on third-down screen passes to keep the rush from ever fully arriving in Florida’s 52-3 win.
After that Campbell game, Jon Sumrall even found himself complimenting the Camels’ offensive coordinator, Matt Kubik, a friend, on a phone call the next day.
“I’m like, hey, I respected how many screens you called on third down just to keep your quarterback out of harm,” Sumrall recalled. “Do we need to still get better?
Yes. But any person watching a game, it’s like, ‘Why can’t we get pressure from the quarterback on a tunnel screen?’
Well, it’s because the ball’s out in one second.
“But I’m all for sacks.”
Sumrall liked the wins, too, and he liked the discipline that came with them. That part matters because Florida’s trip to Auburn also comes with a reminder of how costly mistakes can be. The Gators were flagged seven times for 75 yards in what Sumrall called a “sloppy” second half against Campbell, and they also hurt themselves on Brown’s game-winning drive in last year’s meeting.
Two of those penalties came in succession: Brendan Bett was ejected for an unsportsmanlike penalty after spitting on USF lineman Cole Skinner, and then Dijon Johnson was called for pass interference on the same drive.
Both Bett and Johnson will be back in the matchup Saturday. Johnson, though, said he’s not carrying last year’s finish with him.
“I feel like this is a new year,” he said. “Credit to those guys and the scheme we are playing against over there, but at the end of the day, we just have to go play football and go play our best game.”
In Other News...
Former Auburn WR Could Change How Dangerous Florida Looks Saturday
Eric Singleton Jr.s return to Auburn is suddenly one of the more important storylines to watch heading into Saturday. The former Tigers wideout, now at Florida, has been limited in practice after suffering a left ankle injury in the Gators season opener, and he already sat out the second week of play. For Auburn, the matchup gets a little cleaner if Singleton is unable to go, because he has been one of the more productive receivers in college football throughout his career and gives Florida a dimension the Tigers will have to account for.
Florida has enough around its passing game to keep Auburn honest, but Singletons status could shape how dangerous the Gators look if the game tightens up. Even being available in a limited role would matter, because his ability to stretch coverage and create separation changes the way defenses have to play. Auburn will keep an eye on the injury report, and Florida will be hoping one of its most dynamic targets can get close enough to full strength to make a difference. [Read more 🡒]
Auburn Heads To Florida With One Big Question About Its Identity
Auburn heads into Week 3 looking like a team still trying to settle its football identity, and the trip to Florida offers a clean test of where it stands. The matchup carries plenty of similarity on paper, with both teams leaning on physical play, but ESPN analyst Cole Cubelic sees the Gators holding an edge in that department, especially on offense. Auburn, meanwhile, has had its strongest moments on defense, helped by the return of key edge rushers, even as the offense continues to search for steadier footing.
The line of scrimmage may tell the story, particularly for an Auburn rushing attack that has not yet found the consistency it needs. If the Tigers are going to leave Gainesville with a better sense of who they are, the offensive line will have to answer a lot of the questions that have followed it through the opening weeks. Against a Florida team built to make games feel uncomfortable, Auburns margin for error looks slim, and its identity may be just as dependent on how it handles the trenches as on anything else. [Read more 🡒]
Baylor Suddenly Has A Breakout Star Chasing A Historic Pace
Gavin Freemans move from Oklahoma State to Baylor has already changed the look of the Bears passing game. Through two games, the senior has become a steady target in the offense, piling up catches at a pace that has him sitting atop college football in receptions and helping Baylor get off to a strong start with wins over Auburn and Prairie View A&M.
Freemans early surge has put him on a track that is hard to ignore this early in the season, especially for a Baylor team looking for reliable production through the air. If he keeps drawing that kind of volume, the conversation around his year could shift quickly from a hot start to something much bigger, with record-setting territory suddenly in view. [Read more 🡒]