Caution: Coming Up Next Is The NOT So Lovely Village On The Plains
Sumrall was happy about the win but issued a stern warning about the mistakes piling up in the third and fourth quarters.
By Buddy Martin
Coach’s orders: Keep your feet planted. Good luck with that, Gators — because in a few days those feet are marching straight into hostile territory.
It was an impressive special teams showing against Campbell, but Vernell Brown III topped even that with those flashy punt returns.
He was thrilled, but said it was instinctual:
“Yeah, like I say, I credit a lot to instincts, just having that feel for the game. I mean, I've been playing the game since I was five. Obviously the stadiums and the level has changed, but the game doesn't change. It's the same stuff I've been doing since I was five.”
Obviously, he’s very proud of the record of 219 yards.
“Yeah, I mean, you putting in the work to make plays. To be able to be in the record book and have something to look back on, hopefully one of the many things to look back on and say, ‘Yeah, I did that.’
Have your name cemented in the record books, amazing in the legacy to have my father, grandfather, other family members come before me and obviously do their job. Me to continue the legacy while setting a new standard hopefully for the ones that come behind me is a blessing.”
But there’s no time to brag or gloat.
The Gators need to heed Jon Sumrall’s mandate: Stay planted. In a few days their feet will be standing in the hostile confines of Auburn.
Sumrall was happy about the win but issued a stern warning about the mistakes piling up in the third and fourth quarters.
“If we play like we played in the second half, our team is in for a rude awakening,” he said.
Auburn awaits like a coiled rattlesnake. And the only thing more poisonous than rat poison is rattlesnake venom.
Not much good happens for Florida football near Toomer’s Corner — the Gators are 8-26-1 all-time at Auburn.
Still, there’s reason for optimism heading into trip No. 25, starting with the offense and special teams firepower. Florida is 2-0 for the first time since 2021, chasing its first 3-0 start since 2019 — and they’re a 2.5-point favorite on the road.
This is the gut check. We’re about to learn the true character of Sumrall’s squad.
Pretender or contender?
Let’s not get carried away with the accolades just yet.
I like Florida’s chances, based on the consistent play from starting quarterback Aaron Philo — as long as he keeps it up. But let’s not go overboard comparing VB3 to Percy Harvin, like plenty of you already have. Most people still consider Percy the greatest Gator of all time.
Nobody knows yet how good VB3 will become. But for a day, he was spectacular.
I’ll co-sign what my friends at All Kinds of Weather wrote: “I love VB3. He’s a spectacular playmaker. He’s not Percy Harvin, and nobody ever will be — there’s only one Percy Harvin. Vernell Brown III is great at being Vernell Brown III. Just let him be Vernell Brown III.”
A Hollywood Ending in Austin
Hollywood showed up in Austin right on cue — sweet irony, sweeter redemption, and the coronation of college football’s Crown Prince, all wrapped into one wild script Saturday night.
Down 23-3 with the fourth quarter dawning, Arch Manning decided enough was enough. Three touchdown drives later, Texas had ripped the nation’s No. 1 ranking away from Ohio State, 24-23.
The dagger: Hollywood Smothers diving over the pile from a yard out with 25 seconds left — because of course a guy named Hollywood delivers the final scene.
“That’s when I knew it was our time,” Manning said afterward. He wasn’t lying.
It was Sark’s biggest win at Texas, made even sweeter by Oklahoma’s ugly loss to Michigan.
The Longhorns beefed up their run game with Hollywood, a former NC State back who left for more money.
As my friend Chris Childers put it on X: “Hollywood Smothers sounds like the Waffle House’s most expensive breakfast platter.”
It was Steve Sarkisian’s signature win — Texas’ first home victory over a No. 1 team since Truman was president — and a fine way to shut up Columbus for a while. Jeremiah Smith torched the Longhorns most of the night, but none of it mattered once Manning found his fourth-quarter groove.
One of the best college football games I’ve seen in years. The SEC just knocked off the nation’s No. 1 team — and yeah, we’ll go ahead and claim them.
Today’s Fashion Note for CFB
Keep chopping those football pants down and pretty soon they’ll look like thongs. Where are the fashion police? Call me old-school, but uniforms need some uniformity, don’t they? What’s next — football tank tops?
A Reminder About Tuesday Night
Don’t forget: ESPN Films’ 14 Days in Gainesville, a new 30 for 30 documentary, premieres Tuesday, September 15 at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN and the ESPN App.
Directed by Daniel B. Levin, the film returns to the fall of 1990, when Gainesville found itself caught between tremendous anticipation and unimaginable tragedy. Steve Spurrier, the Heisman winner, had just returned to his alma mater as head coach, promising to breathe new life into a program hungry for a new era. At the same time, the university community was reeling from the murders of five students in a matter of days.
Against that backdrop, the documentary chronicles a community grappling with fear and grief while a new football season closed in — and how students, players, coaches and residents lived through those extraordinary days as a program’s fresh start collided with a serial killer on the loose.
Operation Pushback: Help Us Get GatorBait Across the Goal Line
GatorBait has taken its share of hits over the years. It’s time to restore the brand to its rightful place in the lexicon of Gator battle cries.
Since we bought the franchise, there were plenty of moments we could’ve folded the tents — but we didn’t, thanks to loyal Gators like you and staffers who volunteered without pay. We hung on, just barely, until new UF president Dr. Stuart Bell rode in with the cavalry. It came at a price, emotionally and financially.
But we’re back, baby — most of the way, anyway — and now we need your help to finish the job.
Join our 100 for 100 campaign: 100 patrons donating at least $100 each to offset past expenses, legal bills, a new laptop and other obligations. We know everybody’s asking for money these days, and we get it if you can’t. But give what you can — just Venmo $100 to the Buddy Martin Show.
What do you get?
1. A special bi-monthly newsletter from our staffers with info and takes you won’t find anywhere else (we’ll need your email address for that).
2. An invite to a late-season tailgate with our staff and personalities — maybe even a small trinket to mark the occasion.
3. Discounts on GatorBait products and books, including The Golden Season by Franz Beard, and a possible upcoming book by Steve Spurrier on his quarterbacks.
Help us get the rebrand all the way home. Join GatorBait 100 for 100. For more info, listen to The Buddy Martin Show or email buddymartinshow@gmail.com.
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