The Jon Sumrall era opens Saturday night at The Swamp, and Florida’s first test comes against an FAU team that brings real firepower on one side of the ball and plenty of questions on the other. Kickoff is set for 7:45 p.m. on SEC Network, with the Gators hosting the Owls in the season opener.
On this week’s Swampcast, the Sun’s Kevin Brockway and Andrew Abadie dug into the matchup with FAU play-by-play voice Ken LaVicka, and the conversation kept circling back to the same theme: Florida should have chances to score in bunches.
Brockway pointed to the Owls’ defense as the area that could get exposed early. FAU ranked 130th out of 136 FBS schools in 2025, and Brockway said there’s little reason the Gators shouldn’t move the ball. He also noted the challenge Florida will face from FAU’s passing game, which ranked first in the country a year ago and returns quarterback Caden Veltkamp and receiver Easton Messer.
"They've added a few pieces here and there but to me there's no excuse to not be scoring on this team," Brockway said. "I could see a 49-21 or 56-21 type game if everything is clicking ... this is the big statement, can the offense go out and put points on the board like a pinball machine."
Abadie sees a game that could get messy before it settles down. He said turnovers may be part of the story, with Veltkamp’s interception issues and first-year UF quarterback Aaron Philo still building chemistry with a new receiver group.
"I think we're gonna see four, maybe five turnovers in the game," Abadie said. "I think it's going to be wonky that first half and then I think Florida's run game is going to kind of take over."
LaVicka said FAU has tried to shore up its defense through the portal, adding SMU defensive tackle transfer Blake Burris and Kansas linebacker transfer Joseph Sipp. The Owls are coming off a 4-8 season in Zach Kittley’s second year, and LaVicka said the roster turnover has been managed with unusual stability.
"They got busy in the portal, that is for sure," LaVicka said. "What's wild is they had the best retention of any Group of Six program in the country, 54 players, but that allowed them to sort of pick and choose in the portal instead of having to open the valve and let a bunch of new talent come in."
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A recent Vanity Fair piece also revisited concerns about Kiffins behavior during his Alabama tenure, adding another layer to the reputation that has followed him for years. Florida passed on pursuing him as its head coach in 2021 in part because of those kinds of questions, and the latest round of headlines makes that decision look different in hindsight. Whether that will matter in the long run is another matter, but it is hard to ignore how much baggage has come back into view. [Read more 🡒]
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The bigger picture now is what comes next, because Lagway is expected to open the 2026 season healthy with Baylor. For Florida fans, that makes the story of his 2025 struggles feel less like a postmortem and more like context for how much he was asked to handle behind the scenes. The numbers were uneven, but the season was about more than turnovers and passing totals, and that is the part that may stick with those around the program. [Read more 🡒]
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The bigger question now is how much of Whites old identity follows him to Florida and how much gets left behind. Kentuckys formula fit some opponents well enough, but Floridas coaching staff seems to view this as a chance to build something less rigid and more tailored to the players on hand. If the Gators are going to get where they want on defense, the answer may not just be about fronts and coverage calls, but whether White is willing to lean into a philosophy that looks noticeably unlike the one he used before. [Read more 🡒]