Florida-Auburn grudge match: The only thing missing is Gordon Solie

There is this theory that has been circulating for a few months that Jon Sumrall is Florida’s football coach because athletic director Scott Stricklin got the best of the guy he once mentored. It is only a theory but one that has grown legs. It has its start back in 2008 when Scott Stricklin left Kentucky to become the senior associate athletic director at Mississippi State. Coincidentally, MSU needed a new baseball coach and Kentucky head coach John Cohen just happened to be available. Was this a package deal? They would probably both deny it, but there are folks who believe it.

When Greg Byrne (now Alabama AD) left Mississippi State for Arizona in 2010, Stricklin became the MSU athletic director. And, when Stricklin left MSU for Florida in 2016, Cohen was immediately named as the replacement. Cohen remained at Mississippi State until 2022 when he succeeded Allen Greene as the athletic director at Auburn.

Fast forward to October of 2025. After a 3-4 start and a win over Mississippi State of all schools, Stricklin pulled the plug on Billy Napier, naming Billy Gonzales as the interim head coach for the rest of the season. A couple of weeks later up at Auburn, Cohen pink slipped Hugh Freeze, who was finding creative ways to lose very winnable games.

For the next month, Florida seemed zeroed in on Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin. There was talk at Auburn about hiring Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz and bringing one-time Auburn offensive coordinator and former Florida State head coach Jimbo Fisher out of retirement but the one name that resonated with the Auburn faithful was Jon Sumrall, busy coaching Tulane to the American Conference championship and the College Football Playoff. Sumrall was a natural fit: Alabama native (from Huntsville), married to an Auburn grad, championship pedigree.

Just when it seemed Kiffin was a lock for Florida, the narrative changed. Perhaps guided by super agent Jimmy Sexton, Kiffin started leaning heavily to LSU. Meanwhile, Sumrall kept checking all the boxes for Stricklin and very quietly he became the target. At the same time, Sumrall was Auburn’s top target and because of the connection to the state of Alabama and the Auburn grad wife, many assumed Auburn was a mortal lock.

A funny thing happened on the way to a mortal lock. In a scene reminiscent of the ending of “The Graduate” in which the blushing bride throws off her veil and sprints down the aisle to her true love, who fights off the wedding guests with a cross, Scott Stricklin stole Jon Sumrall off the Auburn altar. That was November 30, 2025. On that same day, John Cohen went Plan B by hiring Alex Golesh from South Florida.

Had Sumrall taken the Auburn job would Golesh have been Florida’s Plan C (Kiffin was Plan A)? Only Scott Stricklin knows for sure and he’s not talking.

By stealing Sumrall away from Auburn and his old buddy John Cohen, Stricklin has successfully turned Saturday night’s Florida-Auburn matchup at Jordan-Hare Stadium (7 p.m., ESPN) into a grudge match that lacks only Gordon Solie hyping it with one of his legendary interviews. Both teams come into the game 2-0. Florida is a 2.5-point favorite, which means oddsmakers view this as a white knuckles finish tossup. For Auburn fans it is a Dusty Rhodes-Harley Race revenge match.

So, who wins it? The SEC Soothsayer knows for sure.

The Sayer says Sooth!: Florida’s many weapons will put three or four touchdowns on DJ Durkin’s Auburn defense but the shocker will be Brad White’s Florida defense. The plain vanilla of the last two weeks will emerge fierce and motivated. Florida will win and it might not be as close as some expect.

ELSEWHERE IN THE SEC

Texas-San Antonio (2-0) at No. 1 Texas (2-0): You go from Ohio State to UTSA in a week. That’s like chasing a crystal flute of champagne with a Mickey Malt straight from the bottle. The Sayer says Sooth!: The Horns face the Vols on the road next week. Give the fans a show then make sure nobody gets hurt is the agenda. Texas is favored by 30.5 points.

No. 2 Georgia (2-0) at Arkansas (1-1): This game will be only slightly tougher than last week for Georgia. Last week the Bulldogs hung 10 TDs on Western Kentucky. The Sayer says Sooth!: The only question is does Kirby Smart leave Gunner Stockton in long enough to give him some Heisman-like stats.

No. 7 LSU (2-0) at No. 8 Ole Miss (2-0): Juicy! Lane Kiffin returns to Oxford where he is only slightly more popular than a case of incurable gonorrhea. If Sam Leavitt can’t play then LSU’s defense better deliver in a very big way, but do the Tigers have the ability to shut down Trinidad Chambliss? With Leavitt, LSU is a 3-point favorite. Without him? Odds tilt heavily in favor of Ole Miss. The Sayer says Sooth!: All eyes are on Lane Kiffin, but they should be on that LSU defense, which has a nasty streak. All bets are off if Leavitt doesn’t play or he is visibly hindered by some injury, but if he’s healthy it’s an LSU win.

Kentucky (1-1, 0-1 SEC) at No. 9 Texas A&M (2-0): For a half, Will Stein had Kentucky faithful believing last week. Then reality set in and Bama blew the doors off the Wildcats. The Aggies might have a better defense than Alabama which is why they are 17.5-point favorites. The Sayer says Sooth!: Nothing more than a tuneup game for the Aggies, who have to play at LSU next Saturday night.

Florida State (1-1) at No. 10 Alabama (2-0, 1-0 SEC): The Seminoles embarrassed Alabama in Tallahassee last year. Paybacks are hell. Alabama has had this one circled on the calendar since January. That Alabama is only a 19.5-point fave is curious however. The Sayer says Sooth!: FSU QB Ashton Daniels better show up in his feets don’t fail me now persona because the Bama defense is going to leave him battered and bruised.

Kennesaw State (1-1) at No. 15 Tennessee (2-0): The Vols are favored to win by five touchdowns. Why so few? With Texas on the agenda for next week the Vols’ most important task will be to keep everyone healthy. The Sayer says Sooth!: The Vols should hang 40 on the scoreboard by halftime.

Troy (2-0) at No. 20 Missouri (2-0): It’s Mizzou. It’s September. Eli Drinkwitz rarely loses a game in September. Troy is a 27.5-point road dog. Ahmad Hardy still hasn’t played for the Tigers but they won’t need him Saturday. Another big game for Austin Simmons. The Sayer says Sooth!: Troy would need a surprise equal to the legendary Trojan Horse to win this one. Mizzou by a mile. Or two.

New Mexico (2-0) at No. 24 Oklahoma (1-1): The Sooners have a graduate level defense and a Romper Room level offense that better improve in a hurry. As get well games go, this one is likely to stay close for at least a half and maybe into the fourth quarter. The Sayer says Sooth!: Oklahoma, but the final score might not reflect on how close it really is.

Mississippi State (2-0) at South Carolina (2-0): The Gamecocks are favored by four, but why? They haven’t played anyone while Mississippi State has already gone on the road to stick it to a Big Ten opponent. LaNorris Sellers has to play like the LaNorris Sellers of 2024 for South Carolina to win this one. Kamario Taylor of MSU only has to play like he did last week against Minnesota. The Sayer says Sooth!: Beware Mississippi State. The Bulldogs are a whole lot better than expected and they’ll win Saturday.

North Carolina State (1-1) at Vanderbilt (2-0): Hotshot freshman Jared Curtis will start at QB for the Commodores, who are 3-point favorites. Any pressure he’s feeling is dwarfed by the pressure on NC State coach Dave Doren. He’s skating on thin ice and a loss to Vandy will draw out the sharp knives among the boosters. The Sayer says Sooth!: Vandy wins this in a fourth quarter chest clutcher.

COUNTDOWN TO FIRING DAY: SEPTEMBER 18 EDITION

EXTINCT SPECIES LIST

None so far, but it’s not October. Yet.

ON LIFE SUPPORT

Mike Norvell, Florida State: The new prez fired the athletic director for the audacity of not only running up $437 million in debt but giving Norvell a sweetheart contract that will require $51 million to send him to Lake Oconee, the rather hip gathering place in North Georgia for former coaches living off the buyout money. The Seminoles are at Alabama this week and Alabama is still pissed for losing to FSU in Tallahassee last year.

Luke Fickell, Wisconsin: Rather than circle the football complex, buzzards are sitting in the trees just waiting for someone to pull the plug on Fickell. Eastern Michigan is this week’s opponent. Wisconsin won’t have a winnable game until Rutgers on November 7.

Dave Aranda, Baylor: DJ Lagway’s high ankle sprain is likely to keep him out of this weekend’s game with Louisiana Tech. The goal is to have him ready for Colorado in the Big 12 opener next week. A loss to Lousy Tech would be a walk the plank sentence for Aranda but if Lagway further damaged the ankle, the Bears will be in deepest and darkest. The defense better win this one.

Bill Belichick, North Carolina: Son Steve has resigned as part of a growing scandal at UNC so Bill is calling the defense. Apparently, he hasn’t forgotten how to do it. Two games, two wins, 13 points allowed and just 5.5 yards per pass attempt. Now if he can just get the offense cranked.  The Heels could be 3-0 after this week because Clemson’s offense would have trouble scoring against a flag football team.  

Mike Locksley, Maryland: The Terps are 2-0 but won’t won’t be favored to win a game until October 17 when they play Rutgers. Such is life in the Big Ten. The money flows but the wins don’t.

Dell McGee, Georgia State: Reality sets in Saturday at the Bounce House. UCF is not going to be nice and will end Georgia State’s thrilling 2-game winning streak, which has been seen by a combine 27,743 hardy souls.

Bill O’Brien, Boston College: The Eagles are 1-1. Okay, the one win was Rutgers but they’ll get another win Saturday. Okay, it’s Maine but D1AA wins count the same in the record book. A 2-game win streak baby!

Greg Schiano, Rutgers: It’s not so much that he’s a bad coach. He really isn’t. The problem is it’s Rutgers, an absolute graveyard where a 7-win season should set off a week of parties. The Scarlet Knights are 0-2 and the only winnable game remaining on the schedule is against D1AA Howard.  

ENDANGERED SPECIES LIST

Dabo Swinney, Clemson: The Tigers almost bought the ranch last week against Georgia Southern. They have no offense. Dabo needs to pledge to the faithful that he will spend NIL money and find a quarterback in the portal. They aren’t going to fire him. He’s earned the right to leave on his own terms, but the higher ups who write the checks aren’t happy campers.

Shane Beamer, South Carolina: The Gamecocks are 2-0 against vastly inferior opponents. This week they start SEC play. Week three and it’s must win time already in Columbia. A loss will ramp up the rumblings that maybe it’s time for a change.

Dave Doren, North Carolina State: The Wolfpack rung up D1AA Richmond for 73 big ones last week. Now they have to play Vandy in Nashville where things could get ugly in a hurry. Dave’s been there since 2013 and he still hasn’t won anything.

Brent Key, Georgia Tech: No Buster Faulkner calling the plays means a miserable offense. The Jackets are 0-2. Other than Mercer this week, Stanford and Boston College there aren’t many wins left on the schedule. Tech fans are already dreaming of the day that Buster Faulker returns as the head coach.

Joe Moorhead, Akron: The Zips won’t go winless this year because they beat D1AA Robert Morris. Moorhead is 14-36 at Akron and on his way to a fifth straight losing season. They had no idea what they were getting into at Akron when they fired Terry Bowden. At least The Little Dweeb could get them an occasional bowl game.