Florida got exactly what it needed out of its last non-SEC tuneup: a lopsided win, a few emerging playmakers, and a special teams day that will stick around in the record book.
The No. 25 Gators moved to 2-0 for the first time since 2021 with a 52-3 rout of Campbell on Saturday, Sept. 12 before an announced crowd of 88,863 at The Swamp. The second quarter turned the game into a runaway, with Florida piling up 35 points to pull away from the Camels and improve to 26-1 against FCS teams since 1981.
Now the attention shifts fast. Florida opens a stretch of nine straight SEC games next Saturday, Sept. 19 at Auburn at 7 p.m. on ESPN.
The biggest offensive jolt came from junior running back Jadan Baugh, who kept his hot streak rolling with 14 carries for 136 yards and two touchdowns. His 75-yard scoring burst late in the third quarter put the game away and gave him a third straight 100-yard game.
Quarterback Aaron Philo continued to look steady in his second start for Florida. He went 16 of 21 for 242 yards and two touchdowns before handing things over to Tramell Jones Jr. late in the third quarter. Philo also ran for a touchdown for the second week in a row.
Redshirt freshman Dallas Wilson had his best game yet as a receiver, catching five passes for 104 yards and a touchdown. Jones, however, threw an interception in the fourth quarter after entering in relief.
Florida’s offense did have a rough patch to start the second half. Costly penalties by offensive linemen TJ Shanahan and Rod Kearney helped stall the first two drives after halftime, leading to a punt and then a turnover on downs. The Gators had scored on their first five possessions before losing some rhythm.
Defensively, Florida looked more settled after Campbell opened with a 63-yard field goal drive. The Gators gave up just that three points and finished with two takeaways.
Linebacker Myles Graham was active throughout, finishing with seven tackles and forcing a fumble that Aaron Chiles recovered. In the fourth quarter, Myles Johnson pounced on another fumble forced by freshman defensive lineman KJ Ford.
Sophomore cornerback J’Vari Flowers also turned in a clean day in coverage with two pass breakups. The one area that still needs work: the pass rush. Florida finished with only two sacks, something that will matter a lot once SEC play begins.
And then there was special teams, which stole the show.
Venrell Brown III returned consecutive punts for touchdowns, going 64 yards and then 70 yards, and became the first Florida player since Jacquez Green in 1996 to do that. It was also the Gators’ first punt return touchdown since Kadarius Toney took one 50 yards to the house against Kentucky in 2020. Brown set a UF record with 219 punt return yards in the game, though the total could have been even higher if not for a Jordan Lowery block in the back on one of his returns.
Alec Clark added a 55-yard punt on his first boot of the season, and Patrick Durkin hit a 28-yard field goal. Florida’s special teams did have a couple of blemishes in the third quarter, when Justin Williams muffed a punt that Campbell recovered and Clark was stopped short on a fake punt run on fourth down. Even so, the overall day was historic.
Florida’s coaching grade reflected both the blowout and the early flat spot. The Gators were outgained 126-97 in the opening stretch and took only a 10-3 lead into the second quarter before the floodgates opened.
The second-quarter eruption, especially Brown’s pair of punt return scores, changed everything. Still, there’s plenty for Florida to clean up before Auburn.
In Other News...
Floridas Blowout Exposed A Few Surprises Fans Need To See
Floridas 52-3 win over Campbell gave the Gators plenty of breathing room, but the Pro Football Focus review afterward did a nice job of showing where the performance really stood out. The grades offered a quick snapshot of who carried the day on offense and defense, along with how the team stacked up nationally through two weeks, which is the kind of context that can be useful early in the season when the sample size is still small.
The PFF breakdown also dug into the details behind the final score, including individual performances, missed tackles and pass breakups, which can reveal more than the scoreboard alone. For Florida, that kind of report matters because a lopsided win can still hide a few surprises, and the grades help point to the players and trends worth watching as the competition gets tougher. [Read more 🡒]
Florida Quietly Found Depth Pieces Fans Should Be Watching Closely
Floridas 52-3 win over Campbell offered the kind of night where the spotlight naturally lands on the obvious stars, but there was also real value in the supporting cast. Dallas Wilson made the most visible case for a bigger role with six catches for 104 yards and a touchdown, while Bailey Stockton added four receptions and did some of the little things that tend to stand out to coaches, including important blocking on punt return touchdowns.
Elsewhere, a few more names surfaced as pieces worth tracking going forward. Roderick Kearney graded as the teams best pass-blocking lineman, JVari Flowers broke up three passes, and Jeramiah McCloud finished with four tackles, half a sack and a pass deflection. In a game Florida was expected to control, those kinds of contributions are the sort that can quietly shape the depth chart as the schedule gets more demanding. [Read more 🡒]
Floridas New Standard Faces A Much Bigger Test Ahead
Jon Sumralls first few weeks at Florida have already made one thing clear: the new standard in Gainesville is going to be demanding, even after a blowout win. Following a victory by more than 40 points, Sumrall and defensive coordinator Brad White both pointed to the defense as an area that still fell short of where they expect it to be, a sign that the margin on the scoreboard was not enough to satisfy the new staff.
For a program trying to build consistency under a new head coach, the bigger challenge is keeping that edge when the games start to look comfortable. Sumrall has stressed the need for the Gators to hold themselves to a high standard and stay locked in mentally, and the next stretch will show whether that message sticks once Florida is asked to carry the same focus into a tougher test. [Read more 🡒]