GAINESVILLE - Florida’s ground game has become the engine, but offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner isn’t done reaching for more.
Faulkner, who has spent the last two decades building a deep playbook and an even deeper obsession with formations, said Tuesday that his approach starts with one simple idea: lean into what his players do best.
“I love plays,” Faulker said Tuesday. “But we try to do what our guys are good at.”
That philosophy was on full display in Florida’s 52-28 win over Ole Miss last Saturday, when the Gators ran for 302 yards and turned the game into a showcase for Jadan Baugh, Duke Clark and a line of blockers that kept moving defenders backward.
“When you’re going to rush the ball - especially without the quarterback element - for 300 yards, it takes all 11 on the field,” Faulkner said.
Aaron Philo is part of that picture, even if he isn’t the kind of quarterback who changes the math on the ground the way Haynes King did during Faulkner’s previous two seasons at Georgia Tech. Still, Philo’s grasp of the system keeps the operation humming.
“Getting us in the right run, timing the motion, all the things that go with it,” Faulkner said.
That kind of precision comes from repetition, and from a group willing to keep pounding away even when the defense knows what’s coming. Florida receiver Dallas Wilson summed up that mindset Tuesday with a line that fits the way this offense is built.
“Coach Buster says, when the whole stadium knows you’re running the ball, we’re still gonna run,” sophomore receiver Dallas Wilson said Tuesday.
Baugh has been the headliner. He enters with 600 rushing yards, including 142 against Ole Miss, and his 11 touchdowns lead the nation. That total is also the most through the first four games of a season since SEC expansion in 1992.
“He moves like a 185-pound guy,” Faulkner marveled. “You can see the wiggle.
He’s very unique in that aspect. Once he gets his pads going downhill, and there were a few runs the other day … that’s what’s gonna carry him for the rest of his career.”
Clark has given the Gators another gear. The 6-foot-2, 208-pound sophomore broke loose for a 45-yard touchdown against Ole Miss on a run that featured two cutbacks and left defenders trailing. He finished with 126 yards on just 12 carries, and together with Baugh, the two backs accounted for seven runs of at least 10 yards.
“They make explosive plays out of nowhere” Wilson said of the duo. “Plays you couldn’t see some people make often.”
That kind of pair gives Faulkner exactly what he wants: a hammer.
“That’s important, imposing your will in all football,” he said.
Faulkner’s background helps explain why he’s comfortable mixing power with creativity. The 44-year-old visor-wearer grew up in Georgia watching Steve Spurrier at Florida. He later quarterbacked Atlanta’s Parkview High School to the 1997 4A state championship, the first title in school history, and led Valdosta State to the 2002 Division II championship game, where the Blaze fell 31-24 to Grand Valley State.
Now he’s drawing from a wide menu, and Florida has already seen the results. The run game was productive at Auburn, where the Gators finished with 242 rushing yards, and it was even more dominant against Ole Miss in the Swamp.
The next test comes Saturday at No. 25 Missouri, where Florida will try to keep the same edge while being ready for whatever the game demands.
“We want to be an offense that can beat you in really any fashion,” he said. “If we’ve got to drop back, we’ve got play-action, screen game, all the different things. When the time arises, we’ve got to be able to beat you in those cases.”
In Other News...
Former Florida QB Pledge Just Raised The Stakes For Mizzou Game
Austin Simmons path has already taken him from one SEC sideline to another, and now it brings a little extra intrigue to Missouris matchup with Florida this weekend. Simmons initially pledged to the Gators in 2023 as a class of 2025 prospect, then reclassified to 2023 and flipped to Ole Miss before eventually transferring to Missouri, where he has emerged as the Tigers starting quarterback.
For Florida, the connection is hard to miss. A player who once looked headed to Gainesville will be lining up against the Gators instead, adding a familiar face to a conference game that already carries plenty of weight. With Simmons now running Missouris offense, the meeting has a little more personal history attached to it than most late-season SEC showdowns. [Read more 🡒]
Jon Sumrall Already Has Georgia Fans Arguing Over Florida Practice Talk
Jon Sumralls Florida practices are already drawing attention well before the Gators and Georgia line up for their next meeting, and this time the buzz has more to do with terminology than tactics. Sumrall has been using Bloody Tuesday to describe the kind of intense, physical work he wants on the practice field, a label meant to signal how demanding those sessions are.
Some Georgia fans and media quickly tried to frame the phrase as a Kirby Smart hand-me-down, but the history stretches far beyond that rivalry. The wording has been around for years, including at Florida under Urban Meyer and even earlier with Penn State coach Hugo Bezdek in the 1920s, which only adds another layer to a matchup already loaded with enough history and side chatter to keep both fan bases engaged as the game gets closer. [Read more 🡒]
Aaron Philo Is Quietly Erasing Florida Fans Biggest Offseason Concern
Before the season, Aaron Philos arm strength was one of the biggest questions hanging over Floridas offense after his earlier work at Georgia Tech. A few weeks into 2026, though, the Gators appear to have a different conversation going on. Philo has been better than expected pushing the ball downfield, connecting on 10 of 17 throws of at least 20 yards, and that has gone a long way toward easing a concern that could have shaped the whole offense.
Jon Sumrall has also made it clear he trusts more than just the arm talent. He has pointed to Philos consistency and intangibles, and the numbers back up some of that faith, with the quarterback ranking among the nations best in completion percentage under pressure and against the blitz. For Florida, the encouraging part is not just that Philo can hit the occasional deep shot, but that he is handling the kinds of situations that usually separate a steady starter from a tentative one. [Read more 🡒]