Jon Sumrall didn’t sugarcoat what Florida needed to hear after its 27-24 upset of then-No. 7 Texas.
“We still suck.”
That was the head coach’s message coming out of a win that looked like a breakthrough, but in his mind was really just a step toward something better. Florida had already lived through the danger of buying into one big result earlier in the season, after beating then-No.
4 Ole Miss and then following it with letdowns against Missouri and South Carolina. Sumrall wasn’t interested in letting that cycle start again.
“We still suck. We just sucked less. And so, we have to figure out how to suck less each week.” - Jon Sumrall after Florida's win at Texas pic.twitter.com/nKouPV3I3V
The warning was clear. A 24-point win over a top-five team and a No. 8 ranking did not protect Florida from what came next: a 17-point loss to Missouri and a 19-point home loss to unranked South Carolina. Sumrall pointed to the danger of people around the program talking the Gators up after the Texas win, and he wanted no part of that kind of drift.
“I think if we've learned anything about this, in this game or in life, you don't get to go, Hey, I was good last week, so I get to be good next week, right?” Sumrall said. “I guess part of why we got our ass kicked in Missouri and last week at home is because everybody around Gainesville was patting our guys in the back, telling them how good they were, and I'm like, ‘Guys, we suck.’
“Like I've watched this practice, we're not very good.”
Still, Saturday gave Florida something tangible to build on. The Gators spotted Texas a 17-3 first-half lead, then flipped the game by storming ahead 27-17 before hanging on for the seven-point win.
In his first start, quarterback Tramell Jones Jr. delivered two clutch touchdown passes. Jadan Baugh piled up more than 100 yards of offense and finished the game-sealing score.
And a defense that has taken plenty of criticism this season came through at key moments, including forcing a fumble on Texas’ final offensive possession.
Even with all of that, Sumrall was not ready to call it a finished product.
“We just suck less,” he said. “And so we have to figure out to suck less each week.
But we're not like a complete team yet. Like this is, so it does nothing for us.
What it does for us, it gets us another win.”
Linebacker Myles Graham echoed that the performance still left room for improvement, even if the effort was obvious.
“We haven't played a full game yet,” Graham said. “And we still haven't. Like, it still wasn't perfect… We still got a lot of things to clean up, but I'm proud of the guys and I'm really just proud of how we fight.”
The timing of the bye week gives Florida a chance to reset while also getting healthier before a major matchup with No. 5 Georgia. More than anything, the Texas win showed a version of the Gators that had not been there the previous two weeks: one that kept fighting instead of folding.
For Sumrall, that mattered more than the ranking, the upset, or the noise that followed.
“It gives me belief and hope that our guys understand you have to fight your tail off every time you play the game,” Sumrall said. “Doesn't matter who you play, where you play, when you play, you have to fight. And if you do not fight, you will get embarrassed.
“This league, man, like there's nowhere to hide. Week in week out, it's the closest thing you got to the NFL, and you got to bring it every freaking Saturday. I'm just glad our guys brought it.”
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Memphis has now waived Clayton as it trims its roster to the leagues 15-player limit, putting him right back into a waiting game familiar to plenty of young pros. There is reported interest from other NBA teams for the upcoming season, which keeps his next stop very much in play and leaves Florida supporters watching to see where he lands next. [Read more 🡒]
Florida Just Forced A Very Different Season Conversation
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CBS Sports responded by bumping Florida up 10 spots to No. 24 in its latest college football rankings, a notable jump after one of the biggest wins of the weekend. It also came in a larger SEC reshuffle, with 10 league teams now sitting in the top 25 of that re-rank, a reminder that Floridas breakthrough arrived in a conference race that already has plenty of company at the top. [Read more 🡒]
Florida Recruiting Momentum Just Put More Pressure On Jon Sumrall
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Among the biggest reasons for the surge is wide receiver Easton Royal, who gave Florida another marquee win after starting his process with Texas. That kind of momentum matters because it changes the pressure around every recruiting battle Florida enters from here, especially with more high-profile decisions still to come and rivals now forced to keep pace with a class that is gaining real national traction. [Read more 🡒]