A Night to Remember In September. And There Are Going To Be More in 2026!

Is a star born yet? Good start for Aaron Philo (Photo by Chris Spears)

Good News! Aaron Philo looked like a battle-ready SEC quarterback. The entire experience even exceeded the expectations of the head coach.

By Eddie Gilley

GatorBaitMedia.com

GAINESVILLE — It was a night to remember.

The inaugural game of the Jon Sumrall era certainly didn’t disappoint Gator fans.

From the press box, we were treated to a spectacular performance by a football team playing with renewed spirit under a new coach. There was a flashy drone light show in the late-summer sky, a rousing rendition of a Tom Petty song and even the surprise revival of that once-legendary yell, “GatorBait,” resurrected by Florida’s new president.

Images of Tebow, Spurrier and Wuerffel danced across the humid darkness.

And down on Steve Spurrier Field, Aaron Philo looked like a battle-ready SEC quarterback.

The entire experience even exceeded the expectations of the head coach. He said so in his postgame press conference.

It was a night filled with fireworks, flashes and an incredible aerial display.

Oh, and there was also a football game.

There were several impressive achievements on the gridiron, not the least of which came from star running back Jadan Baugh. He reached a new plateau that even surprised him.

Two grand in yardage.

Here was the exchange with the media during the postgame press conference:

Q. Last season you were the third Florida underclassman to reach 1,000 yards. Now you’ve reached 2,000. How does that feel?

JADAN BAUGH: I did what?

Q. Now you’ve reached 2,000 rushing yards.

JADAN BAUGH: I didn’t even know that.

Q. You didn’t know?

JADAN BAUGH: No.

Q. Well, congratulations.

JADAN BAUGH: Thank you, thank you.

Q. How does that feel?

JADAN BAUGH: Feels good. Honestly, I just want to keep going, though.

Q. You had 14 carries. You made a lot out of those. You had as many as Florida State, 500 yards tonight.

JADAN BAUGH: Oh, man, you’re not lying.

That’s the kind of guy Jadan Baugh is. He would rather keep running than stop to count the yards.

There were also some things that need to be worked out before the Gators travel to the “Loveliest Village on the Plains” in Week 3, for sure.

Philo completed 16 of 21 passes for 275 yards, with three touchdowns and one interception. The interception hit the receiver’s hands and, according to the head coach, “should have been caught.”

Philo also ran for a score.

It was a very good debut, for sure.

Baugh provided the fireworks on the ground during the game. Then, at the start of the fourth quarter, there were literal fireworks at field level during the traditional singing of “I Won’t Back Down.”

Baugh even struck the Heisman pose during a touchdown celebration.

When asked about it after the game, he said he did it to draw attention to the effort his offensive line and teammates had put in to get him into that position. And, yeah, he also wanted to make a statement about his expectations for the year.

Message received.

Baugh appeared genuinely surprised when informed that he had surpassed 2,000 rushing yards in his Florida career.

That’s the kind of guy he is.

It was also clear from his answer about leadership that he feels he is one of the leaders, if not the leader, of this offense. Baugh said he has been more vocal this year, and that has been the biggest difference for him.

His long run of 61 yards was impressive, but his most important run to me followed a near disaster.

With a first down at the Owls’ 8-yard line, the Gators tried a direct snap to Baugh. The ball sailed over his head, and he recovered the fumble for a 20-yard loss.

That could have killed the drive.

Instead, on third down, Baugh rushed for 25 yards. That set up Philo’s 3-yard touchdown run on fourth down, putting the Gators ahead 24-7.

Bad play. No panic. Next play. Go make something happen.

Baugh’s jump cuts on two of his touchdown runs were incredible. He looked like a Heisman hopeful, even if we are only one game into the season.

He had plenty of help.

Vernell Brown III led the receivers with six catches for 117 yards and scored his first touchdown as a Gator. It was also Philo’s first touchdown pass as a Gator, getting the good guys on the board.

Brown caught a short pass in the right flat, made an Owls defender miss and raced 49 yards after the catch for the touchdown.

Coach Sumrall said he had spoken to VB3 about the fact that he was a valuable player last year, but the Gators needed him to start scoring touchdowns.

One game. One touchdown.

T.J. Abrams also hauled in a beautiful bomb from Philo for a 63-yard gain. That play set up the Baugh fumble and recovery, followed by his terrific 25-yard run.

Bailey Stockton caught three passes, including a touchdown on a perfectly placed throw to his left shoulder. The placement allowed him to outrun the defender to the pylon.

I must admit, I didn’t see this offensive explosion coming.

After the last regime, I wasn’t sure the scoreboard could count past 30.

I was happy to be wrong.

The defense remains a work in progress, and I think I’ll hold that discussion for another column. There will be plenty of time for film study, criticism and concern.

For a few days, let’s join the coach in enjoying being 1-0.

Time will tell whether these Gators are good enough to win the hard games in the SEC. We don’t know whether Saturday night represented a true rebirth or simply one memorable opening act.

But it felt different.

The energy was different. The attitude was different. The offense was certainly different.

It was a night to remember.

It was the first victory of the Jon Sumrall era. It was the beginning of a new day for Florida football. Maybe it was even the awakening of the beast that Florida football has been before and, hopefully, will become again.

Whatever happens next, nobody can take away that first night.

A night to remember in September.

And something tells me there are going to be a few more soon.