‘We Earned the Loss’: Sumrall Owns the Mauling in Columbia
COLUMBIA, Mo. — Jon Sumrall didn’t reach for an excuse.
“Embarrassing performance in every phase. Starts with the coaching, starts with me,” the Florida coach said after No. 25 Missouri beat the No. 8 Gators 45-17 on Saturday. “I’m sick to my freaking stomach with what we just did.”
“We knew a couple of things were coming and still didn’t stop it,” Sumrall told The Associated Press. “They played with physicality. Hat’s off to them. They deserved the win. We earned the loss. We have a lot to work on.”
It was Florida’s first loss of the season, and the AP called it the second-most lopsided SEC loss in school history, behind a 63-14 loss to Auburn in 1970.
“When you lose, you’re going to write a chapter”
Sumrall said the 4-0 start had covered up problems he had already seen. “It’s just been masked by winning some games, but we haven’t played really good football yet in my opinion,” he said in his postgame news conference.
“You get 12 regular season opportunities, you can’t let one get away from you without giving your best, and the fact that we put less than our best out there absolutely makes me freaking sick,” he said.
He put the locker room on notice. “There’s guys on our football team that don’t own that, they won’t be on this football team very long,” Sumrall said.
“Sometimes you can write like a sentence or a page of a story when you win because it like masks a deficiency,” he said. “When you lose, you’re going to write a chapter.”
The numbers behind it
Florida came in averaging 532.8 yards of offense, per the AP, and finished with 325. Missouri piled up 560, including 220 on the ground.
Jadan Baugh broke a 12-yard run on his first carry. He gained 1 yard on his other 11 and finished with 13 on 12 carries. The Gators ran for 42 yards as a team. Late in the fourth quarter, Sumrall said, he put his hand on Baugh’s helmet and told him, “This doesn’t change how I feel about you.”
After Aaron Philo hit Dallas Wilson for a 12-yard touchdown to tie it 10-10 late in the first half, Missouri scored the next 35 points. Jamal Roberts ran for 211 yards and three touchdowns, the last an 80-yarder on the first snap after a Florida punt that made it 45-10 with 13:33 left. On one of Roberts’ long runs, Sumrall said, “one guy got out of his gap.”
By then, the AP reported, the Tigers were mockingly chomping at the Gators. Florida has lost four of its last five games at Faurot Field.
Who was missing
Florida played without wide receiver Vernell Brown III, who has been dealing with a strained right knee, according to the AP. Brown led the Gators with 17 catches for 271 yards, two touchdown catches and two punt-return touchdowns in the first four games.
Safety Bryce Thornton was held out after he felt a lower-body soft-tissue issue in pregame warmups. “It’s nothing major,” Sumrall said, adding that it did not appear to be a long-term problem.
Missouri was without starting edge rushers Darris Smith and Langden Kitchen, both with lower-body injuries.
Missouri’s side
The win snapped Missouri’s nine-game losing streak against ranked opponents and gave Eli Drinkwitz his first regular-season win over a top-10 team in 11 tries, the AP reported.
“What an awesome win for our community, for our state and more importantly for our team,” Drinkwitz said.
Austin Simmons, who completed 23 of 30 passes for 340 yards and two touchdowns, credited his running back. “Seeing Jamal bounce off all those tackles and break free, it’s something I haven’t seen,” Simmons said.
What’s next
The one late bright spot came from backup quarterback Tramell Jones Jr., who went 5 of 5 for 86 yards and found TJ Abrams for a 42-yard touchdown with 47 seconds left.
Florida (4-1, 2-1 SEC) returns home to face South Carolina on Saturday, Oct. 10. Kickoff time has not been announced. “I expect these guys to respond,” Sumrall said.
Editor’s note: Quotes from Sumrall’s postgame news conference and The Associated Press. Stats from ESPN.
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