Jadan Baugh's "another day at the office" was the difference against Auburn

Jadan Baugh (13) strikes a Heisman pose after a 53-yard TD run (Photo by Chris Spears)

The play that best defined what Jadan Baugh called “another day at the office” came early in the fourth quarter, the Gators facing fourth-and-1 at their own 47. Everybody on both sidelines and all 88,000 screamers packed inside Jordan-Hare Stadium knew what was coming. Two tight ends, nobody wide, Baugh the dot in Florida’s I-formation, no time for trying something cute. This was one of those you know who’s getting the football, see if you’re man enough to stop him moments, the kind that extend drives and ultimately decide who wins and who loses.

At the first twitch of center Harrison Moore’s right hand, linebackers were full speed by their second step, each of them seeking a potential gap to stonewall Baugh. Nothing at all wrong with the strategy but proof positive that knowing what’s next and actually doing something about it are two different things.

Baugh took the handoff from quarterback Aaron Philo and headed straight for the gap between Moore and right guard TJ Shanahan, so quick through the hole that he blew past the onrushing linebacker, hitting the second level full speed with nothing but green grass and white stripes on the field in his path. As well he should, Baugh gets plenty of credit for that 53-yard touchdown run but he needs to take the firm of Moore, Harris and Shanahan to dinner this week.

Moore, Harris and Shanahan. Sounds like the name of a law firm but instead of negotiating for an injured client they are at the core of what Buster Faulkner intends to do with Florida’s offense. Whether it’s a blast up the middle, a stretch play between the tackle-guard gaps on the outside hips of Harris on the left side and Shanahan on the right or pass protection these are the guys that make the offense go. It’s grunt work for sure, almost always done in obscurity but when the three guys in the middle of the O-line are cranking Florida’s offense goes beast mode.

Baugh’s 53-yard TD run in the fourth was reminiscent of his 33-yard TD run on the third play of the third quarter. This one, just a straight handoff from Philo out of the shotgun with Baugh taking it straight up the gut of the Auburn defense untouched into the end zone.

The BDA – battle damage assessment – for Baugh alone was frighteningly good. He carried 26 times for 162 yards and three touchdowns, his third straight game this season in which he has eclipsed 100 yards, his fourth dating back to that running wild spree against Florida State in the last game of 2025. With 458 yards on 54 carries (8.54 per attempt) in three games, Baugh ranks second nationally and first in the Southeastern Conference in rushing. He does it with power, he has added the dimension of some wiggle that makes him elusive, a jump cut that enables him to instinctively find open space and breakaway speed that you don’t expect for a Jim Brown-size running back.

Auburn defensive coordinator DJ Durkin, widely regarded for years as one of the best in the business, tried every different alignment he could think of to neutralize Baugh but committing extra bodies in the box meant leaving his DBs in one-on-one coverage with Vernell Brown III and Dallas Wilson. It just wasn’t fair. The Gators rarely threw but when they did Philo (15-22, 204 yards, 1 TD) picked Auburn apart. There was no defense for Brown (5-88) or Wilson (4-79, 1 TD).

This came as no surprise for Florida head coach Jon Sumrall who knew the game plan offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner was cooking up during a week in which multiple media sources questioned how the Gators would fare against a Durkin-coordinated defense as opposed to the two nobodies – Florida Atlantic and Campbell – steamrolled in weeks one and two. Watching the Gators in warmups, Sumrall felt a surge of confidence. As the game wore on he understood that whatever Faulkner dialed up it was going to work.

“I knew we were going to do what, we did on offense,” Sumrall said in the tiny, cramped media room where he held his post game press conference after the Gators (3-0, 1-0 SEC) took out Auburn (2-1, 0-1 SEC) 44-39 in the first Southeastern Conference game of the season for both teams. “I'd watched them enough to know how we were going to play on offense.”

For the most part, Auburn knew what was coming but other than a double pass – a horizontal throw to Kahliel Jackson and a vertical Jackson-to-Jackson (Kahliel to Amir) launch for a 48-yard gain in the second quarter – Florida couldn’t have been less transparent. Once again, it’s one thing to know what’s coming. Stopping it is a totally different animal.

“I knew we were going to run the ball and I knew we were going to throw the ball,” Sumrall said. “They’re [Auburn] good up there, but I felt like we were better. I felt like the matchup leaned our way.”

The matchup more than leaned Florida’s way and there was very little Auburn could do to stop the onslaught. Florida ran 76 plays from scrimmage that gained 495 yards – 53 runs for 242 yards, 23 passes for 253 – and controlled the clock to the tune of a 39:16-20:44 advantage. About the only thing that slowed the Gators down was the hankee-tossing competition going on among the SEC zebra crew headed by Adam Savoie. They flagged the Gators 16 times overall, 12 on offense. The Gators were whistled for three false starts, two holds, two delays of game, two personal fouls, an ineligible receiver, a facemask and an unsportsmanlike conduct. There was also an interception credited to Philo but not his fault. The ball bounced off Baugh’s chest and into the hands of Auburn DB Da’Shawn Womack.

Take away the penalties and that one turnover and Florida was virtually unstoppable. That it came against the Auburn defense made it a teensy bit sweeter for Sumrall who spent the week prior to Saturday hearing a barrage of disrespect, that Florida’s two wins came against Florida Atlantic and Campbell, Swamp visitors willing to take a beating in exchange for a paycheck that not only helps fund the spermwhale harpooning team but keeps the lights on in the athletic complex. Somehow, Florida’s two wins measured less prominently than Auburn’s two over Baylor and Southern Miss, hence the attempts to sow doubt prior to the game.

Sumrall didn’t see much in the way of comparison that should have sown seeds of doubt.

“I'm going to use the motivation from outside people that said, like, we weren't really that good, that we hadn't played anybody,” Sumrall said. “That's what I heard a lot of from, like, some people out in the media – we hadn’t played anybody. I think FAU's pretty good. I think Campbell's a decent football team, but they talked about how they [Auburn] had played people. Well, they played us tonight and so we were going to be ready to play the game the way we need to play it.”

There were well-deserved questions about Florida’s defense, which remains a work in progress despite discovering a pass rush that rarely factored in the wins over FAU and Campbell. Jacksonville State transfer Emmanuel Obadejo and Jayden Woods led a relentless harassment of Auburn QB Byrum Brown, sacking him seven times for 35 yards in losses. The front seven turned in a solid effort. Where the Gators struggled defensively was on the back end which Brown exploited for 271 yards.

The defense has much room for improvement and as good as the offense has been there is room for growth, particularly in the area of the discipline necessary to eliminate the penalties which have increased each game since starting out with four against FAU.

“I'm not a mathematician, but four to eight is doubling them, and eight to 16 is doubling them again,” Sumrall said. “If we don't get that fixed and get back to how we were in week one, we are about to get absolutely embarrassed when we play high-end SEC teams.”

There are four ranked teams remaining on the UF schedule – No. 4 Ole Miss next Saturday followed by No. 19 Missouri in two weeks, plus No. 1 Texas and No. 2 Georgia in back-to-back games – and here is what we know. Florida has a lethal offense that currently ranks second nationally in scoring (54 per game), third in yards (544.3) and fourth in yards per offensive play (7.97) and fifth in passing yards per attempt (11.0). The defense is 11^th in the SEC (326.3 yards per game), but that is marked improvement over last year.

This is hardly a finished product of a team but the Gators are already within a game of last year’s win total (4) and they’ve got a road win, something they failed to do last year in six games away from the friendly confines of The Swamp. Sumrall has the Gators on the right trajectory so it isn’t difficult to imagine them equaling or even bettering the eight wins of the 2020 or 2024 teams. Sumrall will be the first to tell you he didn’t come to Gainesville to win eight games.

Back in August the oddsmakers in Las Vegas set at 7.5 the over/under for Florida football wins. Taking the under might have seemed the prudent thing to do back then, but back then nobody envisioned such a capable and explosive Florida offense, one with enough weapons to cover for mistakes made by their brethren on offense. Beating the over doesn’t seem such a far fetched notion after Saturday night.

If the Gators deliver another “day at the office” performance Saturday when No. 4 Ole Miss comes to Gainesville (3:30 p.m., ABC) it will send a jolt of hope that resonates throughout the Gator Nation. That might have seemed impossible back in August but back then no one in his right mind would have envisioned the Gators opening as 3-point favorites over the Rebels.

There is so much we didn’t know back in August but we’re learning quickly that when faced with fourth-and-1 from his own 47 he trusts his gut, his offensive coordinator and stud running back to get the yard and then some.

ASSOCIATED PRESS (SEC teams bold face) TOP 25: 1. Texas 3-0; 2. Georgia 3-0; 3. Notre Dame 3-0; 4. Ole Miss 3-0; 5. Indiana 3-0; 6. Miami 3-0; 7. Ohio State 2-1; 8. Alabama 3-0; 9. BYU 3-0; 10. LSU 2-1; 11. Texas Tech 3-0; 12. Southern California 4-0; 13. Penn State 3-0; 14. Tennessee 3-0; 15. Utah 3-0; 16. Louisville 2-1; 17. Iowa 3-0; 18. Michigan 3-0; 19. Missouri 3-0; 20. Oregon 2-1; 21. FLORIDA 3-0; 22. SMU 2-1; 23. Texas A&M 2-1; 24. Mississippi State 3-0; 25. Houston 2-1

AFCA COACHES (SEC teams told face TOP 25: 1. Texas 3-0; 2. Georgia 3-0; 3. Notre Dame 3-0; 4. Indiana 3-0; 5. Miami 3-0; 6. Ole Miss 3-0; 7. Ohio State 2-1; 8. Alabama 3-0; 9. BYU 3-0; 10. Texas Tech 3-0; 11. LSU 2-1; 12. Southern California 4-0; 13. Tennessee 3-0; 14. Penn State 3-0; 15. Utah 3-0; 16. Oregon 2-1; 17. Iowa 3-0; 18. Michigan 3-0; 19. Louisville 2-1; 20. Texas A&M 2-1; 21. Missouri 3-0; 22. FLORIDA 3-0; 23. Washington 3-0; 24. Oklahoma 2-1; 25. SMU 2-1

AROUND THE SEC

No. 8 Alabama (3-0, 1-0 SEC): Alabama has rediscovered a ground game. In its 50-36 win over Florida State the Crimson Tide ran for 247 yards. Saturday: South Carolina (2-1, 0-1 SEC)

Arkansas (1-2, 0-1 SEC): The Razorbacks can’t run the football. They’re averaging 75.33 yards per game and only 2.33 yards per carry. Saturday: Tulsa (3-0)

Auburn (2-1, 0-1 SEC): Auburn is dead last in the SEC in protecting the passer, having given up 13 sacks in three games. Saturday: vs. Vanderbilt (3-0, 0-0 SEC)

No. 2 Georgia (3-0, 1-0 SEC): Through three games, Gunner Stockton is 38-45 passing for 583 yards (13.0 per attempt, 9 touchdowns, 0 interceptions). Saturday: Oklahoma (2-1, 0-9 SEC)

Kentucky (2-1, 1-1 SEC): Kenny Michey was brilliant at Texas A&M, completing 14-18 passes for 252 yards and two touchdowns without an interception. Saturday: vs. South Alabama (2-1)

No. 10 LSU (2-1, 0-1 SEC): Safety Da’Shawn Sears will miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL. Tight end Tre’Dez Green is expected to miss some games with a knee injury that won’t require surgery. Saturday: No. 23 Texas A&M (2-1, 0-1 SEC)

No. 24 Mississippi State (3-0, 1-0 SEC): Kamario Taylor is having a brilliant season, already with 11 touchdown passes, 832 passing yards and another 178 yards rushing with a TD. Saturday: No. 19 Missouri (3-0, 0-0 SEC)

No. 19 Missouri (3-0, 0-0 SEC): Austin Simmons has thrown for eight touchdowns without a pick, averaging 9.5 yards per pass attempt. Saturday: at No. 24 Mississippi State (3-0, 1-0 SEC)

Oklahoma (2-1, 0-0 SEC): Oklahoma’s defense is giving up only 215.3 yards per game, but the Sooners have the worst offense in the SEC (329.7 yards and 25 points per game). Saturday: at No. 2 Georgia (3-0, 1-0 SEC)

No. 4 Ole Miss (3-0, 1-0 SEC): Running back Kewan Lacy injured his shoulder against LSU and is not expected to play Saturday against Florida. Saturday: at No. 21 FLORIDA (3-0, 1-0 SEC)

South Carolina (2-1, 0-1 SEC): Running back Matt Fuller leads the Gamecocks with 272 rushing yards for three touchdowns. He has also caught eight passes for 93 yards and another TD. Saturday: at No. 8 Alabama (3-0, 1-0 SEC)

No. 14 Tennessee (3-0, 0-0 SEC): Led by the 1-2 punch of DeSean Bishop (286 yards) and Duane Morris (234), the Vols rank fourth nationally in rushing at 298.67 yards per game. Saturday: No. 1 Texas (3-0, 0-0 SEC)

No. 1 Texas (3-0, 0-0 SEC): Arch Manning struggled with accuracy against Texas-San Antonio, completing just 17-33 passes for 164 yards and two touchdowns. Saturday: at No. 14 Tennessee

No. 23 Texas A&M (2-1, 0-1 SEC): Marcel Reed threw two interceptions and averaged only 4.8 yards per pass attempt in the loss to Kentucky. Saturday: at No. 10 LSU (2-1, 0-1 SEC)

Vanderbilt (3-0, 0-0 SEC): Despite two early interceptions, freshman QB Jared Curtis came back to throw three touchdown passes as Vandy scored 21 fourth quarter points for a comeback win over North Carolina State. Saturday: at Auburn (2-1, 0-1 SEC)