Florida and Auburn head into Week 3 with both teams carrying early-season momentum, but the path they’ve taken to get here looks very different.
The Gators have rolled through their first two games, hammering FAU and Campbell by 49 points or more in each win. Auburn, on the other hand, survived a much tighter opener against Baylor, edging out a 17-16 win before backing it up with a 43-8 victory over Southern Miss.
Florida’s biggest early storyline has been Jaden Baugh, who has exploded out of the gate with 296 rushing yards on 28 carries and five touchdowns. That works out to a scorching 10.6 yards per carry, and it’s exactly the kind of production that jumps off the page. The question now is whether that kind of efficiency can hold up once Florida lines up against an SEC defense instead of the softer competition it has seen so far.
That’s where the doubt comes in for Florida. The Gators haven’t been tested yet, and their numbers in the betting market may be getting a little too shiny after two lopsided wins over Florida Atlantic and an FCS opponent.
Auburn already had to deal with real stress in Week 1, and that could matter here. The Tigers have been through a game that came down to the final margin, and that experience should make them more comfortable in a matchup like this. Against what looks like an even opponent, that edge could be important.
The pick here is Auburn with the points in what looks like a game that should stay tight deep into the fourth quarter.
In Other News...
Floridas SEC Opener Just Got Complicated For Two Key Newcomers
Floridas SEC opener against Auburn already carried the usual early-September pressure, and now it comes with a little more uncertainty for two newcomers who were expected to matter right away. Wide receiver Eric Singleton Jr. and defensive lineman Emmanuel Oyebadejo are both listed as questionable after sustaining lower leg injuries in their season debut, leaving the Gators to sort through their first conference week with a couple of fresh faces in limbo.
Jon Sumrall has made the caution part of the message clear, stressing that there is no sense in pushing either player back too soon and inviting a setback. It leaves Floridas opener with a few moving parts on both sides, since Auburn has one player out and two more listed as questionable, but the Gators immediate focus is less on the Tigers injury report than on whether two important additions can be trusted to go at full speed. [Read more 🡒]
New Clue Reignites Debate Over Floridas Pursuit Of Lane Kiffin
The 2023 Florida coaching search still has a way of resurfacing, and a new book excerpt has added another layer to the debate over how close the Gators came to landing Lane Kiffin after the previous coach was fired on Oct. 19. The fresh account suggests Florida was an early frontrunner in that race before Kiffin ultimately ended up at LSU, a detail that fits into a search that has long been clouded by competing reports about where the Gators really stood.
Florida ultimately moved on and hired Jon Sumrall from Tulane, but the Kiffin connection keeps inviting second-guessing about what might have been. The differing versions of how his market unfolded have made the search one of the more debated episodes in recent program history, and this latest clue only sharpens the sense that there is still more to learn about how that process played out. [Read more 🡒]
Florida Walks Into A Familiar Auburn Test With More At Stake
Alex Golesh and Jon Sumrall know each other well enough for this to feel like more than just another SEC game. Their coaching paths have crossed before, and now they meet again with Florida heading into a tough road test at Auburn, where familiar faces and familiar schemes tend to make the margins even thinner. For the Gators, it is another chance to see how their latest version holds up when the opponent across the field already understands how much of this matchup can come down to coaching as much as talent.
Auburn will also ask plenty of questions of Floridas defense with Brown set to make his first SEC start after transferring from USF, a move that adds another layer to a game already loaded with familiar ties. Sumrall has already noted Browns improvement and acknowledged how difficult Auburn can be at home, which only heightens the stakes for Florida as it tries to leave with more than a hard lesson from another familiar Auburn setting. [Read more 🡒]