In the 38 days he’s been Florida’s head football coach, only 18 as the full-timer actually since he coached Tulane to the American Conference title and the first round College Football flameout at Ole Miss, Jon Sumrall has done a rather remarkable job of changing perceptions in a subtle but substantial way. Subtle, because he hasn’t made himself the center of attention. Substantial because he held onto most of the high school recruits on signing day, retained the most importa

These moments may not last forever — nothing in this sport ever does — but sitting here right now, glass raised over the orange and blue, there is only one thing left for an old homer to say.

Boogie Fland (0) sizes up Georgia's Jordan Ross (Photo by Chris Spears) Until an exorcist is hired to remove the demons that have turned the Florida Gators into the gang that can’t shoot straight, what we saw Tuesday night against Georgia is pretty much what we’re going to get. Todd Golden would love to have another bombs away team like the one he had last year, but that was then. This is now, and now the Gators are a team that will hit an occasional three, but will have to p

Jadan Baugh cuts upfield against Texas (Photo by Chris Spears) On a big day in which he welcomed six new Gators from the transfer portal, Jon Sumrall got the news he’s been waiting for when Jadan Baugh announced on X that he’s coming back to Florida for his junior year. Baugh made second team All-SEC in 2025 by rushing for 1,170 yards (8 TDs) while catching 33 passes for 210 yards (2 TDs). The 6-1, 233-pounder has career numbers of 1,843 rushing yards (15 TDs) and 37 receptio

Stanton will join pitchers that includes returning juniors Keagan Rothrock, Olivia Miller, and Ava Brown Pitcher Caroline Stanton is reclassifying and will join Florida for the 2026 season, a year earlier than planned. The highly-touted recruit plans to redshirt the year. When signing with the Gators, she said: "I chose the University of Florida to both win championships and earn my degree. I want to have a great college experience and meet new people while becoming the best

Getting Boogie Fland untracked is a priority against Georgia (Photo by Chris Spears) Seventeen points. That is the difference between life at the top in both the Associated Press and Coaches top 25 polls and everybody in the country asking what’s wrong with the Florida Gators.   At 9-5 which includes an 0-1 start to the Southeastern Conference portion of the schedule has the Gators outside the top 25 in both polls for the first time since the 2023-24 season. Not exactly what

For years, the Southeastern Conference has worn the crown of college football dominance — a self-proclaimed empire that needed no defending. But this postseason, that empire looks shaky, almost mortal.

(Photo by Chris Spears) Part I of a 3-part series   Centuries ago, the great Chinese philosopher Lao Tze observed, “Do the difficult things while they are easy and the great things while they are small. A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.”   Writing a book. If it were easy everyone would do it. For years I thought about writing a book but always found a reason to put it off. When the final tenth of a second ticked off the clock at the Alamodome in San

In the aftermath of the stunning finish that propelled Ole Miss past Georgia and into the College Football Playoff semifinals, are you overwhelmed by a feeling that the University of Florida might have very well dodged a 30.06 bullet with the name Lane Kiffin engraved on it?   As Ole Miss sent shockwaves by putting an end to Georgia’s season, Kiffin was enjoying himself at the Pete Maravich Center where Kentucky was springing an upset on 5 th -ranked LSU. In the aftermath of

Tommy Haugh slams home an alley oop (UAA Photo) In the latest episode of their very own adaptation of the movie “Groundhog Day,” the Florida Gators had another one of those games in which they turned a very winnable game with the Missouri Tigers into the fifth loss of the season. Like Florida’s four losses prior to Saturday night’s 76-74 flameout in Columbia, the Gators went through some unexplainable stretches in which shooting – or lack of – was almost the least of their wo

Gator fans can’t believe how fast they went from dozing through the Napier years to believing they might actually leap a building or two. Hope is dangerous in Gainesville, but at least this kind feels actionable.

Tommy Haugh soars for a dunk (Photo by Chris Spears) If there is reason for concern about what is ahead for the 22 nd -ranked Florida Gators (9-4) now that the schedule becomes SEC-only the rest of the regular season, it is the 3-point line. We aren’t just talking shooting threes although a dismal 28.2 percent has the entire college basketball world thinking Florida could make the Final Four if the Gators could hit at least a third of their 3-pointers the rest of the way.   I