Tramell Jones had a spectacular first start (Photo Courtesy UAA and Hannah White) It’s just not safe out there for Top Ten Teams. Alabama found out in an upset by Tennessee (26-10). And Texas found out against Florida (27-24). I’m not sure which was the most shocking. Nobody saw the Texas loss coming. Not the oddsmakers, not the Longhorn faithful, and not many Gator fans who’d spent two weekends watching their team get pushed around. Florida went into Austin with a backup quarterback making his first career start and the worst defense in the Southeastern Conference. The Gators left with a 27-24 win over No. 7 Texas, upside-down “Hook ’em Horns” fingers in the air, and a season that had looked like it was over by Halloween. Jon Sumrall didn’t sugarcoat how they got there. “We kept fighting. We didn’t do that the past couple of weeks, to be honest with you,” he said. “When things got tough, we flinched the last couple weeks.” Flinched. That’s a coach admitting what everybody had watched. After a 4-0 start pushed Florida to No. 8, the Gators lost two straight blowouts and looked soft, confused and done. Saturday was the first time in 2026 that this team got punched in the mouth on the road and punched back. The Kid Who Waited Remember the preseason quarterback battle? Sumrall picked Aaron Philo because he ran the offense and handled things at the line of scrimmage better. Tramell Jones Jr. was told to stay in the competition, stay ready and stay patient. He stayed ready. Philo got hurt, and Jones got the keys in one of the toughest road environments in the country. The start was rough. Texas went up 17-3 in the second quarter after Ryan Niblett’s 63-yard punt return for a touchdown, and the crowd smelled another Florida collapse. Two weeks ago, that’s where this game ends. This time Jones hit Lacota Dippre for a touchdown with 18 seconds left in the half. Then he came out in the third quarter and led a 15-play drive that took eight minutes off the clock, finishing it with another touchdown to Dippre. That wasn’t a gunslinger show. It was a grown-up drive, the kind that wears out a defense and quiets 100,000 people a little at a time. “I didn’t take it any bigger than it was,” Jones said. “It feels great, but this is just the start. It’s not over.” Spoken like a kid who knows a quarterback job can change week to week. Philo will heal, and Sumrall will have a decision to make. That’s a better problem than the one he had Friday night. Same Defense, Different Team Now the part that doesn’t add up on paper. The defense that couldn’t stop anybody for two weeks held Texas under 300 yards. It sacked Arch Manning five times. After the first two Texas drives, it took away the Longhorns’ big-play receivers and gave up one first down on Texas’ first three possessions of the second half while Florida took the lead. And when the game was on the line, Myles Graham got to Manning one more time and knocked the ball loose on Texas’ final drive. Ballgame. I’m not going to tell you one Saturday fixes a defense that ranked last in the league. It doesn’t. But it tells you the problem may have been heart, not talent, and Sumrall can coach heart. This one belongs among the biggest road wins in Florida football history. And rarely have the Gators flipped a script quite like this. My friend Randy called with a question that pretty much summed up the early proceedings: “How do you fix stupid?” For a while, it looked like Florida was trying to give the game away. But let’s get something straight: Texas didn’t hand this one to the Gators. Florida took it. And while the conversation in Texas will revolve around Arch Manning, the conversation in Florida ought to begin with Tramell Jones Jr. Not what their quarterback did wrong. What Florida’s quarterback did right. Making his first college start, filling in for the injured Aaron Philo, Jones walked into Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium and helped pull a wobbling team back onto its feet. He threw two touchdown passes to Lacota Dippre, and Jadan Baugh supplied the fourth-quarter touchdown that helped finish the comeback. Spectacular? Not in the video-game sense. Something better under these circumstances: tough, composed and good enough to win when the afternoon seemed headed in the opposite direction. Jones finished with 155 passing yards, two touchdowns and another 41 yards rushing. Those numbers won’t require anyone to rewrite the Florida record book. The circumstances, however, deserve a prominent place in the memory bank. So does the response from Jon Sumrall. Some of us probably owe the man an apology. Or, at minimum, a little acknowledgment that we were ready to pronounce judgment before he was finished making his case. After the homecoming loss to South Carolina, it was fair to wonder where this team was headed. Another ugly start at Texas made that question louder. Instead, Sumrall’s Gators answered with their first road victory over a top-10 opponent since beating Florida State in 2012. Whatever else you want to say about this coach, his team showed toughness and resilience Saturday. True grit isn’t something you put on a motivational poster. It’s something you show when you’re down 17-3 on the road and everybody watching thinks they know how the story ends. Credit the defense, too. This wasn’t simply a young quarterback riding to the rescue. Florida had to get the ball back, and with Texas threatening late, Myles Graham strip-sacked Manning. Kanye Clark recovered, and the Gators finished the job. That will bring another round of uncomfortable questions for Manning and Steve Sarkisian. Those are Texas’ problems. Florida has a much more interesting one. What do you do at quarterback now? Philo’s injury opened the door. Jones walked through it and helped deliver a victory that changed the mood of a season. That doesn’t automatically settle the starting job. It certainly changes the discussion. Do we officially have a quarterback controversy? Call it a competition. Call it a decision. Call it whatever keeps everybody comfortable. But how do you watch what Jones did in Austin and not give him serious consideration for the next start? In two weeks, Florida faces Georgia. Suddenly, that game looks less like a date to dread and more like an opportunity. I nearly turned off the television. Good thing the Gators weren’t ready to turn out the lights. Baugh Pays It Back Patrick Durkin’s 28-yard field goal gave Florida its first lead. Then Jadan Baugh broke outside for an 11-yard touchdown, and for a few minutes that felt like the game. That’s the same Jadan Baugh who had schools lining up to take him in the transfer portal. The same Baugh whose grandmother got a visit from Sumrall on Christmas Eve. Coaches make house calls for moments like this one: fourth quarter, top-10 team, their building, ball in the hands of the guy you fought to keep. Texas answered right away. Manning slipped a fourth-down sack, found Emmett Mosley V for 62 yards and hit Cam Coleman for a 9-yard touchdown. But the Gators had the last word. Texas Has Bigger Problems Steve Sarkisian looked like a man reading his own autopsy report. “We didn’t play good football today. Kind of bled out,” he said. He’s right, and it’s getting worse. Texas has lost two straight. Manning has struggled for four games in a row. One of the best defenses in the country gave up second-half scoring drives of 15 and 14 plays, and star edge rusher Colin Simmons left in the fourth quarter with what looked like an ankle injury. “It’s not great right now,” Manning said. “Coming off two losses in a row, it stings.” The Verdict This was Florida’s first road win over a top-10 opponent since 2012. Fourteen years. Think about how many coaches, quarterbacks and fresh starts have come and gone in that time. Is Florida back? Let’s not get silly. The Gators are 5-2 and play Georgia on Oct. 31. Plenty of teams feeling good about themselves have been humbled in that series. But two weeks ago, people were asking whether Sumrall’s team had a spine. On Saturday in Austin, it showed one. The Gators quit flinching. Let’s see if they can keep it up. Photo courtesy UAA (University Athletic Association, FloridaGators.com) and Hannah White. See more of her work on Instagram, and the official Florida Gators photo galleries at FloridaGators.com.

Jacksonville, Fla. | Oct. 18, 2026 There are nights when the basketball seems as big as a beach ball and everything finds the bottom of the net. Sunday afternoon in Jacksonville wasn't one of those nights for the Florida Gators. Sitting courtside at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena, I watched Florida stumble through a frustrating 82-76 overtime exhibition loss to Baylor. And while exhibition games don't count in the standings, they can tell you plenty about what needs fixing before the real season begins. Here are three things that caught my attention. Two nays and, thankfully, one yay. A Florida guard dribbles with Todd Golden watching courtside. Photo by Chris Spears, GatorBait Media 1. Somebody Please Find the Three-Point Line! 👎 Denzel Aberdeen surveys the floor against Baylor. Photo by Chris Spears, GatorBait Media Florida attempted 29 three-pointers Sunday afternoon. Twenty-five missed. That's 13.8% from downtown, which is about as cold as a January morning in Gainesville. The offensive rhythm was missing for long stretches. Shots weren't falling, possessions looked uncomfortable, and the Gators sometimes appeared to be searching for answers that weren't coming. Denzel Aberdeen finished 0-for-10 from beyond the arc, while Urban Klavzar went 0-for-5. Two players Florida will need offensively combined to miss all 15 of their three-point attempts. You don't need a clipboard or a coaching whistle to recognize that won't win many basketball games. 2. Baylor Had Answers Florida Couldn't Find 👎 Todd Golden watches the action from courtside. Photo by Chris Spears, GatorBait Media Here's a statistic that ought to get everyone's attention. Baylor's bench outscored Florida's bench 33-3. That's not a typo. Meanwhile, Baylor's Kayden Mingo put on quite a show, scoring 31 points, including nine in overtime. Florida also missed 13 free throws, finishing 22-for-35 from the stripe. In a six-point overtime loss, those are points that can come back to haunt you. Good teams find ways to win when their stars struggle. Great teams have somebody else ready to step forward. Sunday, Baylor had those answers. Florida is still looking for them. 3. The Gators Still Have Some Fight in Them 👍 Florida and Baylor players battle for rebounding position. Photo by Chris Spears, GatorBait Media Now, here's something I liked. Despite a miserable shooting afternoon, Florida refused to go quietly. Trailing by three in the final 20 seconds of regulation, Aberdeen made one of two free throws. The Gators then forced a backcourt turnover, and Aberdeen knocked down a baseline jumper with just 0.8 seconds remaining to send the game into overtime. That's the kind of determination you want to see, even when the shots aren't falling. Thomas Haugh led Florida with 19 points, while Rueben Chinyelu pulled down 15 rebounds. Florida won the rebounding battle 46-41, including an impressive 26 offensive boards. The effort was there. The execution? Well, that's another conversation. And maybe that's the encouraging part. Shooting can improve. Effort has to be part of your identity. My Final Thought From Courtside Nobody is handing out championship trophies in October, and nobody should be pushing the panic button after an exhibition. But here's what I've learned about basketball: The scoreboard tells you who won. Sometimes the way a team loses tells you much more. Florida showed heart, fought until the final seconds, and gave us reasons to believe there's something worth building on. But the shooting, offensive chemistry, and bench production need attention. The good news? It's only October. The bad news? November isn't very far away. And from where I was sitting courtside Sunday afternoon, there's still plenty of work to do before these Gators are ready for the spotlight. Chris Spears | GatorBait Media Reporting from courtside, Jacksonville, Fla. Go Gators! 🐊🏀 Through the Lens: Florida vs. Baylor Courtside action, the Florida bench and the postgame news conference from the Oct. 18 exhibition in Jacksonville. All 16 photographs by Chris Spears, GatorBait Media. Tap a photo to explore the gallery. Photo by Chris Spears, GatorBait Media.

Photo Credit - Chris Spears Gatorbait Magazine Cover photo: Apple TV+ By Buddy Martin

BUDDY MARTIN | COLUMN By Buddy Martin · GatorBaitMedia.com “Yeah, I cuss after the game sometimes… my wife’s tried for years to get me to stop,” Sumrall said. Photo: Anthony Garro/UAA Communications. FloridaGators.com Is Jon Sumrall building a reputation as college football’s newest potty mouth? The question came up because of that postgame locker room video — the one where the F-word turned into a full-throated chant after Florida’s win at Auburn. Naturally, some corners of the internet decided the clip had to be AI-generated, because nothing says 2026 like blaming a robot for your program’s language problem. Sumrall, to his credit, didn’t fight very hard to clear his own name. He allowed that it might’ve been AI. Sure. And I’ve got some primo Ocala swampland to sell you, too. Not so fast, my friend! Here’s the truth few want to print: Virtually every coach I’ve ever covered cusses, some of them in language so blue that it would make a longshoreman blush red. The rare exception was Steve Spurrier, who never let the F-word slip in public even when it was practically the house dialect of the sport around him. Sumrall isn’t hiding behind Spurrier’s discipline, and he isn’t pretending otherwise. “Yeah, I cuss after the game sometimes… my wife’s tried for years to get me to stop,” Sumrall said, which is either an admission or a marriage counseling referral, depending on how you read it. Asked, half-jokingly, whether it was actually him doing the cussing in that locker room video, Sumrall leaned all the way in: “My wife’s tried for years to get me to stop — that’s not going real well for either one of us. At SEC Media Days on the main stage I cussed once, I think — Pete Golding cussed a lot more than I did. “Then I went on the SEC Network stage and Coach Saban was telling me a story off-set and he cussed. I asked him, ‘Coach, will you tell that same story on air, exactly like that?’ And he did — that’s when he told me we needed to get Florida going, since he’s a Florida resident now, and he used a cuss word or two in there. “The main reason I wanted Coach Saban to do it is because I could tell my mom that if Coach Saban did it, it was okay for me to do it too.” It sounds like the F-Athon was leaked by a third party. Sumrall said players aren’t allowed to shoot video in the locker room and suggested somebody must have snuck a camera in. “I think it was AI,” he said. Give the man credit for commitment to the bit. He’s got Nick Saban as his character witness and his mother as the jury. That’s a defense strategy I can respect. One Thing He Wasn’t Cussing About Sumrall found plenty to be genuinely happy about after beating Auburn — starting with a tight end room that’s gone from afterthought to weapon in about seven months flat. Credit for the turnaround goes to tight ends coach Evan McKissack, and Sumrall wasn’t shy about handing it over. He labeled the group the program’s “Most Improved Room,” which, coming from a coach who just admitted to a chronic cussing problem, is about as close to a papal blessing as you’re going to get. Sumrall didn’t sugarcoat where the group started, either: “I’ll be very honest with you. I told our offensive staff in the middle of spring, I’m like, I feel like that room right now is the land of misfit toys — like who’s what? Coach McKissack has done an unbelievable job. That group has grown as much as any group I’ve seen in a stretch from I would say February to right now as any position group I’ve ever been affiliated with in this game — it’s really cool to see. I’m very proud of all of them,” Sumrall said, adding, “I trust those guys as much as I trust anybody.” From “land of misfit toys” to “I trust those guys as much as I trust anybody” in one offseason. That’s not a metaphor coaches usually get to flip that fast. Who’s in the Room Luke Harpring (Jr.) — caught an 11-yard pass against Auburn; Sumrall called him a “Swiss Army knife” who’s good at a little bit of everything. Amir Jackson (Jr.) — hauled in a 48-yard reception off a double pass from wideout Kahleil Jackson on third-and-8. He ranked No. 2 nationally among tight ends in PFF’s run-blocking grades, as reported September 21. Lacota Dippre (Sr.) — sprung Jadan Baugh’s 53-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-1 by taking on two defenders as a lead fullback-blocker; he’d been Florida’s offensive player of the week the prior week despite zero stat-sheet production. Evan Chieca (Sr.) — made his Florida debut against Auburn and sealed Baugh’s long touchdown run by identifying and blocking linebacker Elijah Melendez. How They Fit Into the Auburn Win Florida beat Auburn 44-39 on the road at Jordan-Hare, giving Sumrall his first SEC win as Gators head coach. Jadan Baugh ran for 162 yards and three touchdowns, and Aaron Philo threw for 204 yards and a score, according to Florida’s official box score. But the box score undersells what the tight ends actually did. Amir Jackson’s trick-play 48-yarder kept a scoring drive breathing when it easily could’ve stalled, and Dippre and Chieca combined to physically clear the lane for Baugh’s 53-yard touchdown burst — the exact kind of unglamorous, high-IQ work that doesn’t show up on a stat sheet but absolutely shows up on a scoreboard. No wonder Sumrall singled them out afterward. It’s a lot easier to forgive a man his language when his misfit toys are the reason he’s still smiling on the flight home. A Word on Flags, Not F-Bombs For all the chatter about what came out of Florida’s mouths in that locker room, the Gators have a more consequential habit to clean up: flags. Florida drew 16 penalties for 138 yards at Auburn. Through games played September 19, cfbstats lists the Gators with 27 penalties in three games — 9.0 per game. By penalties per game — the fairer, apples-to-apples measure — Syracuse led the nation at 12.0 through September 19, followed by UTSA at 11.3 and UCLA at 10.7. Kansas State was at the other end, averaging 2.7. That’s the language problem that costs actual yardage. Penalties and all, these Gators were listed as 3.5-point favorites against No. 4 Ole Miss in Monday’s Associated Press report. That line is a dated snapshot, not a promise about where the betting market will settle. The verdict: Sumrall’s mouth might need a filter, but his tight end room doesn’t need an apology from anybody. One’s a bad habit his wife will keep losing to. The other is a position group that just helped beat Auburn in Jordan-Hare. I know which one Gator Nation is actually going to remember in December. More From Buddy Martin Jon Sumrall Stayed Home. So Did His Star Running Back. Saturday’s Bill Comes Due: Gators, Ole Miss, and ‘The Promise’ Keep independent Gator journalism going. Subscribe to GatorBait Media for more from Buddy Martin and the GatorBait team. Photo by Chris Spears, GatorBait Media.

By Buddy Martin GatorBaitMedia.com I have this running debate with my podcast colleague Shane Matthews, who oddly enough is a traditionalist, but says one game doesn’t have a bearing on the history of what will happen next. I get what Shane is referencing, but if that were true, we would never be able to connect the dots, which is what tracing history is all about. So what did that time-honored phrase by philosopher George Santayana mean, when he wrote in his 1905 book “The Life of Reason: Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it?” And think about that statue of Tim Tebow, when you harken back to 18 years ago. The Florida Gators should say “thank you“ to Ole Miss Saturday for beating them18 years ago and providing the motivation for another national championship. Now they can show their gratitude by kicking the Rebels’ ass and getting Jon Sumrall’s team over the hump in 2026. Saturday afternoon at 3:30, the No. 4 team in the country walks into The Swamp as Sumrall’s 3-0 Gators get their first real measuring stick of this season. Ole Miss comes in loaded, fresh off throttling a top-10 LSU team in Oxford, the same swagger Florida carried in 2008 right up until the moment these two teams met and the Rebels took it away from them. Ole Miss has also won the last meeting, a 34-24 beatdown in Oxford last November. There’s a debt on the table here, and it’s older than most of the players on either sideline. Eighteen years ago, on a Saturday afternoon — not a night game, a 12:30 kickoff under a September sun — Florida and Ole Miss played a game that still shapes how this program thinks about itself. Fourth-ranked, unbeaten Florida had just lost to Ole Miss, 31-30, at home, with a Kentrell Lockett blocked extra point three minutes earlier turning out to be the difference. Fourth-and-1. Ole Miss 32-yard line. Forty-one seconds left. Florida trailing 31-30. Everybody in the building — everybody in the country, for that matter — knew what was coming. Tim Tebow was getting the ball, because Tebow always got the ball in that spot, and Tebow always got the yard. Not this time. Ole Miss stacked ten men close to the line, Peria Jerry and the Rebels front collapsed the pocket before Tebow ever got started, and the most unstoppable short-yardage weapon in college football was stopped cold, short of the sticks, short of history. Jerry was Ole Miss’s senior defensive tackle on the 2008 roster and a team captain that year. On the decisive fourth-and-1 at the Ole Miss 32 with 41 seconds left, Jerry was central to the stop — he “submarined” right tackle Jason Watkins and also took out right guard Mike Pouncey, collapsing the lead blocker’s path before Tebow was dragged down. ESPN’s SEC recap stated, “Peria Jerry and a host of his Ole Miss defensive mates smothered Florida quarterback Tim Tebow on fourth-and-short to seal the 31-30 upset.” Kentrell Lockett had blocked the extra point. With 3:28 left, after Percy Harvin’s 15-yard touchdown run cut it to 31-30, Lockett broke through and blocked Jonathan Phillips’ potential game-tying extra point — his first career kick block. Urban Meyer argued Lockett had illegally jumped over the line, but officials upheld the block. My colleague back then, Brady Ackerman, in a post game streaming show, said, “Well there goes the national championship!” And I swear I said to him, “Not necessarily!“ That’s how I remember it. What Urban Remembers Urban Meyer walked into his own locker room that afternoon and didn’t recognize what he found. His quarterback was sitting on the floor, alone, tears running down his face. “He was pretty emotional,” Meyer would recall years later. “He was just sitting there.” Meyer just sat down on the floor next to him. “I didn’t want him to do what he did,” Meyer admitted about what came next. “I hate it when a player puts himself out there like that. People rip him if things don’t work out.” And that’s the thing about Meyer’s version of this story — he genuinely hated it in the moment, said so plainly, and yet cared enough about what his quarterback had said that he had those exact words engraved on a plaque outside the football complex before the next season even started. He hated it and made it permanent. Both things were true. What Tebow Remembers Tebow’s own memory is just as bare. “I sat there on the floor, leaning against Coach Meyer,” he said. “We were trying to figure out what we did wrong, what we could do better, how did this happen? I was crying. And then, my parents came in and I got emotional again.” What didn’t come out publicly until years afterward was that receiver Louis Murphy had to talk a sobbing Tebow off the floor and get him composed enough to walk to that podium at all. I was sitting about 10 feet from Tebow a few minutes later at that press conference. I’ve written a lot of sentences in my life, but I’ve never found one strong enough to describe watching a 21-year-old with his eyes still wet, his voice cracking, saying what came next. “I just want to say one thing to the fans and everybody in Gator Nation. I’m sorry. Extremely sorry. We were hoping for an undefeated season. That was my goal. It’s something Florida’s never done here. But I promise you one thing: a lot of good will come out of this. You have never seen any player in the entire country play as hard as I will play the rest of this season, and you’ll never see someone push the rest of the team as hard as I will push everybody the rest of this season. You’ll never see a team play harder than we will the rest of the season. God bless.” I turned to my cohort Franz Beard afterwards and said, “Did he say what I think he just said?” Standing ten feet away, I honestly didn’t know if I was watching conviction or desperation. Neither did Meyer, by his own admission. “I was really disappointed” that he gave that speech, Meyer said years later, worried a losing season would turn a raw, honest moment into a punchline. It wasn’t a punchline. Florida didn’t lose again. Ten straight wins, an SEC Championship beatdown of No. 1 Alabama, and a 24-14 dismantling of Oklahoma for the BCS national title — the second Meyer and Tebow won together in three years. Back to Saturday Which brings us back to 3:30 this Saturday, another day game, another shot at Ole Miss in The Swamp. Sumrall’s Gators are 3-0 for the first time since 2019, coming off a win at Auburn where Florida watched a 17-point fourth-quarter lead shrink to five before closing it out, 44-39. The Gators have opened as home favorites with a spread ranging from -2.5 to -3 points. Sumrall doesn’t talk in promises. He talks in standards — no bad wins, no days off, prove people right or wrong. But standards mean nothing until they’re tested against a team that’s better than you on paper, and a No. 4 Ole Miss team that just took down a top-10 LSU squad is exactly that test. Will that have any influence on the outcome of what happened in 2008? Nobody needs a sequel to what happened in that locker room. That story already got its ending — a crystal football in January. But there’s something fitting about Ole Miss being the team standing across the line as Sumrall tries to prove his Gators belong with the big boys again. The Rebels didn’t just beat Florida that Saturday afternoon in 2008. They handed a devastated 21-year-old the reason he needed to become the most relentless competitor this program has ever had. Whatever happens this Saturday, that debt is worth remembering — not with bitterness, but with the kind of respect you owe an opponent who, without meaning to, helped build a champion. I was there for the tears in 2008. And I’ll be there Saturday for whatever comes next. Is there real connection between 2008 and 2026? Perhaps not, but for those of us who were in both places, that emotional link will always be there, which is part of the history Tim Tebow bequeathed us. And for which Gator fans should always be eternally grateful. Turns out it was one of the greatest losses in Florida football history. Put that in your Hotty Damn Toddy! Photo by Chris Spears, GatorBait Media.

Denzel Aberdeen wins a temporary injunction allowing him to play for Florida in 2026–27. What the ruling means for the Gators and their backcourt. Banner design by GatorBait Media using a Chris Spears photograph. GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Denzel Aberdeen has a path back onto the floor for Florida. A judge granted the guard a temporary injunction Tuesday allowing him to compete in the 2026–27 season, according to separate reports from The Associated Press and The Independent Florida Alligator. Circuit Judge George M. Wright issued the ruling in Alachua County. Florida coach Todd Golden and players attended the hearing, AP reported. “We’re pleased with today’s ruling, and we’re especially happy for Denzel,” Golden said in a statement reported by both outlets. What the ruling means The immediate development is permission to play under a temporary injunction. It is not a final judgment resolving the entire eligibility dispute, and it should not be described as a final appeal victory. The Alligator reported that Aberdeen sought the injunction in his lawsuit against the NCAA after uncertainty over a fifth season. His case concerns how the NCAA’s five-seasons-in-five-years policy applies to athletes who began college in 2022. File photo: Denzel Aberdeen attacks the basket for Florida against UConn. Photo by Chris Spears, GatorBait Media. Why this matters for Florida Aberdeen spent his first three college seasons at Florida, contributed to the 2025 national championship team and played last season at Kentucky. In its September 21 official preseason report, UF documented his return and his preparation while awaiting the hearing. Florida reported that Aberdeen started every game for Kentucky and averaged 13.5 points, 3.4 assists and 2.5 rebounds. His experience gives Golden another established guard alongside Boogie Fland. For the Gators, the basketball significance is straightforward: a player already practicing with the team now has a court ruling permitting competition. That adds clarity to the backcourt without turning a September legal development into a guarantee about March. The bigger roster picture Franz Beard examined the frontcourt in With Haugh, Condon and Chinyelu back, expectations are stratospheric for UF. His earlier analysis of Florida with or without Aberdeen explains why the guard’s status has been such an important preseason question. Those columns preceded today’s ruling. Tonight on The Gator Lowdown Loren Meadows will discuss the Aberdeen development and Florida–Missouri tonight, with Ben Troupe’s “What’s Got Troupe Trippin.” Jade Weathersby and Vanessa Harris join the women’s basketball conversation at 9:30 p.m. ET. Watch through GatorBait TV. Reporting note: This breaking update is based on the linked AP and Alligator reporting and UF’s official background report. GatorBait has not independently reviewed the written court order. Archive photo courtesy UAA (University Athletic Association, FloridaGators.com).

The Buddy Martin Show went live Thursday night with the week's biggest question: who would play quarterback for Florida at No. 7 Texas? Tramell Jones Jr. got the start, and Florida won 27-24. The replay is below. Missed it live? Thursday's show, with Buddy's Philo injury exclusive and Chris Doering, is here in full: Watch on The Buddy Martin Show page, where the stream plays right on the site, or open the live stream on YouTube. Aaron Philo was out with a shoulder injury after the 38-19 loss to South Carolina, and Tramell Jones Jr. made his first career start Saturday in Austin. Florida beat No. 7 Texas 27-24 and is 5-2, 3-2 in the SEC. Buddy's take this week ran under the headline "QB1 Philo Hurt. QB2 Jones To Start? Explained by That Great Football Mind Ted Lasso." Members can read it here. Don't miss a show The Buddy Martin Show streams live Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET. Subscribe to the show on YouTube so the next one is one tap away, and every past broadcast is on the show page. Join All Access for Buddy's members-only columns and GatorBait Magazine, including the Postgame edition on Florida's win at Texas. Archive photo by Chris Spears, GatorBait Media.

Florida is one win from bowl eligibility, and an off week comes first. The Gators (5-2, 3-2 SEC) need six victories to qualify for a bowl game. They have five regular-season games left and have not played since beating Texas 27-24 in Austin on Saturday. Florida is No. 20 in the Associated Press poll released Sunday. Florida is off Oct. 24. Then comes No. 5 Georgia on Oct. 31 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, with kickoff at 3:30 p.m. ET on ABC. The Bulldogs are 6-1 overall and 4-1 in the SEC, according to ESPN. Their only loss came Saturday against Auburn, 27-24. The rest of the schedule, per FloridaGators.com: Nov. 7, Oklahoma, Gainesville. The kickoff is a flex date, either 3:30-4:30 p.m. or 6-8 p.m. ET, and has not been set. Oklahoma is 3-3 and 1-2 in the SEC. Nov. 14, at Kentucky, Lexington. The game is in the night window, 6-8 p.m. ET. Kentucky is 6-1 and 4-1 in the SEC. Nov. 21, Vanderbilt, Gainesville. The game is in the early window, between noon and 1 p.m. ET. Vanderbilt is 3-4 and 0-4 in the SEC. Nov. 27, at Florida State, Tallahassee. Kickoff is 3:30 p.m. ET on ABC. Jon Sumrall's team has beaten Florida Atlantic, Campbell, Auburn, Ole Miss and Texas, and lost to Missouri and South Carolina. Statistics, schedule and kickoff times from ESPN and FloridaGators.com. Rankings from the Associated Press. Photo courtesy UAA (University Athletic Association, FloridaGators.com) and Hannah White. See more of her work on Instagram, and the official Florida Gators photo galleries at FloridaGators.com.

Florida’s slide has carried the Gators all the way out of the AP Top 25. The poll released Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026, dropped Florida from No. 16 after Saturday’s 38-19 home loss to South Carolina. Two weeks earlier, the Gators were No. 8. Florida is 4-2 overall and 2-2 in the SEC after consecutive losses to Missouri and South Carolina. The two opponents outscored the Gators 83-36. The next opportunity to stop the slide comes Saturday, Oct. 17, at Texas, now No. 7. Georgia moved to No. 1, followed by Notre Dame, Miami, Ohio State and Indiana. The SEC has nine ranked teams. Florida’s absence leaves the Gators outside that group as they prepare for another ranked opponent on the road. Florida’s AP slide Sept. 27: No. 8 Oct. 4: No. 16 Oct. 11: Unranked AP Top 25: Oct. 11, 2026 1. Georgia 2. Notre Dame 3. Miami (FL) 4. Ohio State 5. Indiana 6. Alabama 7. Texas 8. BYU 9. Ole Miss 10. Texas Tech 11. Utah 12. UCLA 13. Missouri 14. Tennessee 15. Kentucky 16. Mississippi State 17. Iowa 18. Oklahoma State 19. USC 20. Houston 21. Wake Forest 22. LSU 23. Boise State 24. SMU 25. Northwestern Sources AP’s Oct. 11 rankings AP poll report South Carolina–Florida game report Cover photo: The Gators gather on the sideline during the South Carolina game. Photo by Chris Spears, GatorBait Media.

Aaron Philo (12) under center against South Carolina. Photo by Chris Spears, GatorBait Media. Numbers don't lie except when they do! When we got into the media room after the game on Saturday, the staff handed us a stat sheet. I couldn't believe the numbers could be accurate. That wasn't the game I had just watched with my eyes. It couldn't have been that game. Let me show you what I mean. First downs: South Carolina 22, Florida 20 Rushing yards: South Carolina 114, Florida 120 Passing yards: South Carolina 279, Florida 267 Total yards: South Carolina 393, Florida 387 Do those numbers look like they belong to a 38-19 score? What in the world happened to make this game a lopsided affair that ended in a statistical draw? The biggest number might be the number 3, as in 3 Gator turnovers. Philo fumbled on a drive deep in the Gamecocks' end of the field to stop one drive. The interception from Philo late in the second quarter gave South Carolina a short field and a missed opportunity to stop them on third down led to a touchdown for SC. A missed fourth down in the fourth quarter gave them another short field that led to a quick touchdown for the visitors. The interception thrown by Jones was also in the SC end of the field although by that time the game was really over. The Gator defense held the SEC's leading rushing offense to 114 rushing yards. What they couldn't do was keep the Gamecocks from reaching their scoring average, which they edged by less than a point. Take away those two short fields and the defense didn't have a bad game on paper. They were just terrible on 3rd down plays and really bad on a few pass plays that netted most of the yards for the Gamecocks. The Gator offense could not find the end zone as it had in previous games. On a day when scoring was essential, the Gators settled for field goals while the Gamecocks were scoring touchdowns. The Gators were 27 points below their season average. Granted, that average is skewed by the first couple of games but even if they averaged what they did on the first two SEC games and got 48 that would have been enough to win. The opportunity to score was there, but in the end the Gators stopped themselves as much as SC did. The missed field goal right before half may have been bigger than we imagined at the time. From the description of the locker room at the half that was given by Coach Sumrall today in his press conference, it may have been the key play of the game. If he makes that kick and they go in down 4 and getting the ball to start the second half, maybe momentum comes out in the white jersey. Settling for a field goal on the first drive instead of a game-tying touchdown didn't help as well. We all know what happened after that! The final score numbers don't lie, but the rest of the stats leave a story of missed opportunities and mystery. Our eyes told us one story, and the hard data tells another one. Maybe the Gators are closer than we think to being a good football team. A handful of plays could have made the difference in the outcome and the perception of this team. Time will tell if the players believe the stats or the film. The same is true for Gator fans. It won't be any easier this week when they head to Austin to face the Longhorns. Keep watching for some more numbers later in the week that may give you a glimmer of hope Gator fans! Photo by Chris Spears, GatorBait Media.

Apparently, Missouri wasn't the detour. It may have been the warning sign.

Saturday was the 500th game in The Swamp, and you could feel it from the sideline before the Gators ever reached the field. The tunnel crowd leaned in, Albert carried the flags out front, and the smoke cleared just in time for the team to run through it. The view from down here is different. You don't see a whole play develop. You see faces, helmets and the small moments that never make the broadcast: a head coach walking out with his game face on, a mascot hoisting a flag, a coach working an official. Florida got its first lift from Bailey Stockton, who stretched for the pylon on a 59-yard touchdown. From the sideline, that's the moment the whole bench leans forward. South Carolina took over from there and won 38-19. The sideline has a way of telling you what the scoreboard can't: where the energy is, who is talking to whom, and when a coach is trying to change the game. Next up is Texas on Saturday, Oct. 17, at noon ET on ABC. I'll be back on the sideline. Chris Spears is a photographer for GatorBait Media. See all 36 of his photos from South Carolina in Chris Spears' Best Shots: South Carolina 38, Florida 19. Photo by Chris Spears, GatorBait Media.