New UF coach Jon Sumrall will coach Tulane tonight against North Texas The ultimate test is winning on the field, but for less than a week on the job Jon Sumrall is proving to be a very good hire for the Florida Gators. After scoring big with an enthusiastic introductory press conference in which Hall of Fame Florida coaches Steve Spurrier and Urban Meyer fully endorsed him, Sumrall held on to the bulk of a recruiting class that some thought would disintegrate and made two outstanding coordinator hires.   This is what you call hitting the ground running, particularly impressive when you consider Sumrall also put the finishing touches on preparation for 21 st -ranked Tulane’s American Conference Championship Game matchup with No. 20 North Texas in New Orleans tonight (8 p.m., ABC). The winner of tonight’s game is a mortal lock to make the College Football Playoff. North Texas (11-1) is favored by 2.5 points over Tulane (10-2), playing in its second straight American Conference title game under Sumrall’s direction. In four years as a collegiate head coach, Sumrall has had his team (2022-23 at Troy) in the conference title game each year (won twice).     After going more than a month without a head football coach and then being jilted by Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin, it wouldn’t have been a surprise for the Gators to lose most of their committed recruits, but that didn’t happen. Depending on whose rankings you prefer, Florida’s recruiting class is No. 13 at On3/Rivals and No. 15 at both ESPN and 247Sports. Sumrall did that on the phone and with the help of Zoom.   Following that rather eye-opening sales job, Sumrall landed a pair of highly regarded coordinators in Brad White and Buster Faulkner. White spent the previous eight seasons as the defensive coordinator for Mark Stoops at Kentucky, while Faulkner coached the quarterbacks and coordinated the offense at Georgia Tech the last three years for Brent Key.   Here is a capsule look at Faulkner and White:       Buster Faulkner, Offensive coordinator: Faulkner’s chief mentor is Chris Hatcher, his college coach at Valdosta State and later boss at Murray State. He was the quarterbacks coach for VSU’s 2007 Division II national champion. He worked as a quality control assistant at Georgia under Todd Monken and Mike Bobo from 2020-23. As the offensive coordinator at Georgia Tech the last three seasons, Faulkner has produced a consistently good product. In 2023 the Yellow Jackets averaged 424.6 yards per game followed by 424.5 in 2024. In 2025, Georgia Tech averaged 466.3 yards per game (12 th nationally). The Jackets were balanced all three seasons, averaging 203.77 rushing, 220.8 passing in 2023; 187 rushing, 237.5 passing in 2024; and 203 rushing, 263.3 passing in 2025.   As the offensive coordinator at Arkansas State in 2017, the Red Wolves averaged 37.8 points per game (12 th nationally) and 494.8 yards of total offense (10 th nationally). The Red Wolves finished fifth nationally in passing, averaging 342.2 yards per game.     Brad White, Defensive Coordinator: White spent eight seasons as the defensive coordinator for Mark Stoops at Kentucky. From 2018-22 the Wildcats finished fourth or higher in total defense in the Southeastern Conference. The 2022 UK defense finished second in the SEC to national champ Georgia, 12 th nationally. White’s Kentucky defenses always outperformed their personnel. The last two seasons were a real problem since the UK offense stunk it up and consistently gave opponents short fields to work with. A Wake Forest grad, White worked for Chris Hatcher at Murray State and for X as the inside linebackers coach at Air Force. That was followed by five years in the NFL with the Indianapolis Colts, first in defensive quality control and then coaching the linebackers. During his time at Kentucky, the Wildcats went to six consecutive bowl games.   THE RECRUITING CLASS The Gators have 17 signed recruits, but still have a pair of unsigned commitments in safety Kaiden Hall (6-3, 200, Milton, FL) and tight end Kekua Aumua (6-6, 257, Kahuka, HI). Aumua could flip to Washington while Hall should be considered likely to sign with the Gators, who may end up signing one or two others.   Florida flipped corner Dylan Purter (6-0, 165, Tuskeegee, AL Booker T. Washington) from LSU. The only commitment the Gators lost on signing day was running back Carsyn Baker (6-0, 195, Fairburn, GA Langston Hughes), who signed with Texas A&M.   Here is a class breakdown: Quarterback (1): Will Griffin (6-3, 225, Treasure Island, FL/Tampa FL Jesuit, 4 star) Griffin is the No. 16 quarterback in the country.   Wide receivers (3): Davian Groce (6-1, 190, Frisco, TX Lone Star); Justin Williams (5-11, 190, Gainesville, FL Buchholz, 4 star); Marquez Daniel (6-5, 195, Tuskeegee, AL Booker T. Washington, 4 star) Groce is the No. 10 wide receiver in the country. Williams is the No. 24 wide receiver in the country. Daniel is the No. 45 wide receiver in the country.   Tight end (1): Heze Kent (6-6, 320, Brunswick, GA, 4 star) Kent is the No. 23 tight end in the country.   Offensive line (5): Tyler Chukuyem (6-6, 290, Douglasville, GA South Paulding, 4 star); Chancellor Campbell (6-8, 310, St. Petersburg, FL Lakewood, 3 star); G’Nivre Carr (6-4, 325, Ocala, FL/Bradenton, FL IMG Academy, 3 star); Desmond Green (6-4, 354, St. Stephen, SC Timberland, 3 star); Jararil Luckas (6-5, 305, Belle Glade, FL Glades Central, 3 star) Chukuyen is the No. 25 offensive tackle in the country. Campbell is the No. 44 offensive tackle in the country. Carr is the No. 47 guard in the country. Green is the No. 78 guard in the country.   Defensive line (3): KJ Ford (6-4, 245, Duncanville, TX, 4 star); Kendall Guervil (6-5, 315, Fort Myers, FL, 4 star); JaReylan McCoy (6-7, 265, Tupelo, MS, 4 star) Ford is the No. 18 EDGE rusher in the country. McCoy is the No. 17 D-lineman in the country. Guervil is the No. 25 defensive tackle in the country.   Linebackers (1): Malik Morris (6-1, 260, Lakeland, FL, 4 star) Morris is the No. 17 linebacker in the country.   Secondary (3): CJ Bronaugh (6-1, 175, Windermere, FL, 4 star); Dylan Purter (6-0, 165, Tuskeegee, AL Booker T. Washington, 4 star); CJ Hester (6-1, 195, Cocoa, FL 3 star) Bronaugh is the No. 11 corner in the country. Purter is the No. 15 corner in the country. Hester is the No. 40 corner in the country.    RECRUITING RANKINGS (SEC schools bold face) ON3/Rivals top 30: 1. Southern California; 2. Notre Dame; 3. Oregon; 4. Georgia; 5. Alabama; 6. Ohio State; 7. Tennessee; 8. Texas A&M; 9. Miami; 10. Texas; 11. LSU; 12. Michigan; 13. FLORIDA; 14. Florida State; 15. South Carolina; 16. Washington; 17. Oklahoma; 18. North Carolina; 19. Clemson; 20. Illinois; 21. Texas Tech; 22. West Virginia; 23. SMU; 24. Iowa; 25. Virginia Tech; 26. Ole Miss; 27. BYU; 28. Missouri; 29. Syracuse; 30. Mississippi State Others: 33. Vanderbilt; 38. Auburn; 56. Arkansas; 58. Kentucky; 63. UNLV; 68. UCF; 72. South Florida; 73. Tulane; 83. James Madison; 94. Florida International; 117. Florida Atlantic; 149. Florida A&M   ESPN top 30: 1. Southern California; 2. Texas; 3. Georgia; 4. Notre Dame; 5. Oregon; 6. Texas A&M; 7. Alabama; 8. Tennessee; 9. Ohio State; 10. Michigan; 11. Miami; 12. North Carolina; 13. Florida State; 14. LSU; 15. FLORIDA; 16. Oklahoma; 17, Washington; 18. Clemson; 19. Texas Tech; 20. SMU; 21. Illinois; 22. BYU; 23. Virginia Tech; 24. Ole Miss; 25. South Carolina; 26. Missouri; 27. West Virginia; 28. Syracuse; 29. Indiana; 30. Minnesota Others: 32. Vanderbilt; 33. Mississippi State; 54. Arkansas; 55. Auburn; 56. Kentucky; 62. UNLV; 67. South Florida; 75. James Madison   247SPORTS top 30: Southern California; 2. Oregon; 3. Notre Dame; 4. Alabama; 5. Georgia; 6. Ohio State; 7. Tennessee; 8. Texas; 9. Texas A&M; 10. Miami; 11. Michigan; 12. LSU; 13. Washington; 14. Florida State; 15. FLORIDA; 16. Oklahoma; 17. North Carolina; 18. Clemson; 19. Texas Tech; 20. South Carolina; 21. BYU; 22. Illinois; 23. Virginia Tech; 24. SMU; 25. West Virginia; 26. Mississippi State; 27. Iowa; 28. Utah; 29. Minnesota; 30. Syracuse Others: 31. Vanderbilt; 33. Ole Miss; 35. Missouri; 36. Auburn; 56. Arkansas; 57. UNLV; 65. Kentucky; 74. South Florida; 75. James Madison; 83. UCF; 84. Tulane; 89. Florida International; 124. Florida Atlantic   BILLY NAPIER TO JAMES MADISON   Billy Napier wasn’t jobless very long. Per multiple reports, Napier will be the new coach at James Madison once the Dukes’ season ends. Napier is getting a 5-year contract to coach the Dukes with details revealed at a Saturday press conference. JMU will play Troy for the Sun Belt Conference championship Friday night. Should the Dukes win that game, they could make the College Football Playoff as the highest ranked Group of Five team.   The Dukes are currently 11-1 in their second year under Bob Chesney, who led them to a 9-4 record in 2024. Chesney has accepted the job at UCLA.   This is familiar territory for Napier, who was 40-12 at Louisiana prior to taking the Florida job in 2022. Napier won the Sun Belt championship in 2020 and again in 2021.   At Florida Napier went 22-23 in four seasons. He was fired at Florida after guiding the Gators to a 23-21 win over Mississippi State. His only winning season was 2024 when the Gators finished on a 4-game roll for an 8-5 record.   OTHER COACHING NEWS Texas A&M offensive coordinator Collin Klein has been named the head coach at Kansas State. K-State head coach Chris Klieman who surprisingly announced his retirement after seven years as the head coach. Klein, a former K-State quarterback, got a 5-year deal that pays an average of $4.3 million.   Penn State is going all out to hire Iowa State coach Matt Campbell as the replacement for James Franklin. Penn State players endorsed running backs coach Terry Smith, but Penn State apparently believes it is closing in on a deal to hire Campbell, who is 72-55 at Iowa State and 107-70 in his coaching career.   Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer once again has stated he has no interest in the Penn State job. DeBoer has been mentioned as a potential head coach almost since the day James Franklin was fired.     UAB has removed the interim tag from Alex Mortenson. UAB went 2-4 under Mortenson after Trent Dilfer was fired.   AS THE PORTAL TURNS Arkansas: CB Keshawn Davila Auburn: CB Raion Strader; DL Antonio Coleman; EDGE Mike Hastie Georgia: CB Daniel Harris LSU: WR Jelani Watkins Mississippi State: S Stonka Burnside Missouri: RB Brendon Haygood; WR James Madison II South Carolina: DL Zavion Hardy Tennessee: EDGE Kellen Lindstrom; DL Jamal Wallace Vanderbilt: QB Drew Dickey

Boogie Fland drives for two late game points (UAA Photo) DURHAM, North Carolina – There were no moral victories to be had Tuesday night at Cameron Indoor Stadium, but Todd Golden saw something in his 15 th -ranked Gators in the second half of a 67-66 loss to 4 th -ranked Duke that bodes well for the future.   Down by as many as 15 in the first half and 36-24 at the intermission, the Gators put together their best half of the season and gave themselves a chance to win a game that looked hopeless after the first 20 minutes.   “That was our best 20 minutes overall period,” Golden said. “But, as I said, we were disappointed. There was a couple of things that happened in the first half that we have to live with. One of the things that we wanted to live with was their big guys taking threes and (Patrick) Ngbonga  hit two threes in the first half. One bounced all the way to the ceiling and dropped in on us. (Cameron) Boozer made a couple of good threes. They make four threes in the first half from their front court. We can live with that.   “What we couldn’t live with was allowing Cam to get back to his right hand, left shoulder, sending him to the line, giving him those right lane drives.”   Boozer, who along with twin brother Cayden led Miami Columbus to four straight Florida State championships, scored 16 first half points as Duke shot 14-27 from the field overall and 5-13 from the 3-point line. Cameron Boozer was 6-9 overall from the field and 2-4 from the 3-point line.   I thought we played really well the first 10 minutes of the game,” Golden said. “I thought we were not nearly good enough the last 10 minutes of the first half, and that ended up costing us.”   Of Florida’s 24 first half points, Tommy Haugh was responsible for 13. He finished the game with 24 points, six rebounds, one assist, one steal and one blocked shot.   Florida adjusted its second half defense and while Boozer scored 13, he was only 4-12 from the field and made only one of five 3-pointers. Boozer found the going quite a bit tougher in the final 20 with Rueben Chinyelu putting the clamps on him.   “In the second half, I thought Rueben shut his water off and didn’t allow that to happen,” Golden said. “Kept beating him to the spot and made him counter. He made a couple of tough lefty hooks which we’ll live with but kept him off the foul line that way. And you know, I thought our zone bothered him a little bit. Mixing that in made them uncomfortable and you know, we held them to 31 points.”   Duke scored on a backdoor layup to open the second half, but the Gators scored the next nine points – a three by Xaivian Lee, a driving layup by Boogie Fland, consecutive inside moves for layups by Alex Condon – and Duke’s once formidable 14-point lead was cut to five.   With a little less than 16 minutes and the Gators trailing 40-33, Golden switched tactics that had an adverse affect on Duke the rest of the game. Full court pressure wasn’t so much about forcing turnovers as it was to force Duke out of its offensive rhythm. Once the Blue Devils broke the press and got into their offense, they were operating with 17 or fewer seconds on the shot clock.   Still, it was an uphill battle but Golden had a good thing going with Fland and Urban Klavzar doing most of the work on the perimeter with Condon, Chinyelu and Tommy Haugh doing the damage on the front line. Fland cut the Duke lead to a single point (44-43) with 12:32 remaining when he tipped in his own miss off a fast break, but Duke went on a 10-2 run to stretch things back to nine, 54-45.   Then came back-to-back threes by Haugh and Klavzar to bring the Gators back within three at 54-51 with 8:20 left. Duke responded with a 5-2 mini-run assisted by a bizarre dead ball flagrant foul call on Haugh with 5:51 left. Duke got two free throws to make it 58-53 and got the ball, too. On the ensuing possession, Ngbonga was fouled and hit one of two free throws.   Three points all from what can only be deemed one of several interesting calls from the zebra crew of Roger Ayers, Brian O’Connor and Tony Chiazza. The zebras didn’t lose the game for Florida – the Gators still had chances to win – but a game of this magnitude called for better officiating.   “I thought there were a lot of things that simply didn’t go our way tonight,” Golden said. “Maybe we caught another break when Tommy Haugh drives the rim and gets hammered (Haugh got two free throws that he canned), then they go review it and bang us on a flagrant. Things like that are really tough to swallow in a game like this and that was just one of two or three of them, probably, that we can get back on that, that were kind of very questionable situations.”   Florida did score six straight points after Duke led 59-53, a dunk by Condon and two straight jumpers by Fland, the second with 2:39 remaning that tied the game at 59-59. That was the first time the score was dead even since 19-19 with 8:02 left.   When Boozer knocked down his only three of the second half with 2:10 to go for a 62-59 Duke lead, the Duke crowd just about blew the roof off Cameron, but Florida had answers. Fland drove through heavy traffic for a layup with 1:49 left but Boozer muscled his way for a tough two and a 64-61 Duke lead.   Florida took the lead on a pair of Condon free throws with 1:11 left and a three from the left wing by Fland with 35 seconds to make it 66-64, silencing the Duke crowd.   The final 30 seconds proved a nightmare finish for the Gators, who had fought back so valiantly. Isaiah Evans, who had an oh-for-7 night going from the 3-point line, shook free when Florida over-rotated on the left wing. He drilled the shot with 21 seconds to go.   The Gators were holding the ball for a last shot at winning the game, but when double-teamed Fland dribbled the ball off his foot with four seconds left. On the inbounds play, Condon fouled immediately, sending Caleb Foster to the line for a one-and-one with 1.9 seconds remaining. When Foster missed, Chinyelu rebounded and Florida called its last time out with one second remaining.   Florida tried a length of the court pass on the final play of the game, but Duke’s Maliq Brown got a piece of the ball, ending the Gators’ chances of pulling this one out.   To contrast the two halves, Florida was 10-35 overall and 3-16 from the 3-point line in the first 20 minutes. The Gators made only 9-25 on layups and scored only two second chance points.   Then came the second half in which the Gators hit 15-32 overall and 4-12 on threes. Fland, who was 1-5 from the field with only three first half points, scored 13 in the second when he hit 6-11 shots. Condon scored 10 of his 12 points in the second half, finishing the game with 10 rebounds. Chinyelu only scored four points, but he had another beastly game on the boards, finishing with 14.   “We played an elite second half,” Golden said. “Came in here and outscored them by 11. We just dominated the second half. We beat them by 11 on the boards. Turned the ball over probably a few too many times, but I thought we played a good game. I told our guys, to win in a place like Cameron, you’ve got to outplay Duke by 10 points because you’re not going to get any 50-50 calls. Things aren’t going to go your way, and we certainly had a little bit of that tonight. ”   SEC BASKETBALL Syracuse (5-3) 62, No. 13 Tennessee (7-2) 60: Syracuse hit critical free throws in the final minute to upset 13 th -ranked Tennessee. Jaylen Carey led the Vols with 22 points and nine rebounds.   No. 16 North Carolina (6-1) 67, No. 18 Kentucky (5-3) 64: Derek Dixon scored five of North Carolina’s final six points including the go-ahead layup with 16 seconds to go to lead the Tar Heels past Kentucky. Otega Oweh led Kentucky with 16 points.   Oklahoma (6-2) 86, Wake Forest (6-3) 68: Virginia Tech (7-2) 86, South Carolina (5-3) 83: Virginia Tech outscored South Carolina 16-13 in overtime. Meechie Johnson and Elijah Strong each scored 18 to lead South Carolina.   Texas A&M (7-2) 81, Pittsburgh (5-4) 73: Rashaun Agee scored 21 and grabbed 13 rebounds to lead the Aggies to a road win over Pitt.   Georgia (8-1) 107, Florida State (5-3) 73: Jeremiah Wilkinson scored 22 points as Georgia hit 56 percent from the field and outrebounded FSU 48-27 for a win in Tallahassee.   Miami (7-2) 75, Ole Miss (5-3) 66: Miami sprinted out to a 42-26 lead at the half and then cruised to a win over Ole Miss in Oxford. Miami outrebounded the Rebels 45-29.   Notre Dame (6-3) 76, Missouri (8-1) 71: Notre Dame outscored Missouri 43-31 in the second half to knock off the Tigers, who were led by Mark Mitchell with 26 points.   `

Boogie Fland scores against Providence (UAA Photo) Based on the two games of the Rady Children’s Classic in San Diego last week, Todd Golden has a rather good idea what it’s going to take for 15 th -ranked Florida (5-2) to deal with 4 th -ranked Duke (8-0) tonight (7:30 p.m., ESPN) in the SEC-ACC Challenge at Cameron Indoor Stadium.   The Gators split two games in San Diego, dropping an 84-80 decision to TCU in the first game, then bouncing back with a 90-78 win over Providence. In the loss to TCU, the Gators committed way too may fouls, turned the ball over 19 times and missed shot after shot from the outside. Against Providence the Gators committed only four turnovers in the last 36 minutes of the game, fouled less and had the best shooting game of the season from the 3-point line.   Florida’s 3-man backcourt rotation of Xaivian Lee, Boogie Fland and Urban Klavzar combined for 55 points with Lee and Fland making four three pointers and Klavzar three. It was important especially for Lee to get untracked. He had a season high 20 points while making 4-9 of his 3-pointers.   Until the Providence game, Lee had been the missing ingredient. A two-time All-Ivy League selection at Princeton and a career 37 percent 3-point shooter, Lee had hit only two of his previous 22 threes prior to Providence. Not only did his perimeter shooting take a step up, but so did his entire offensive game.   Golden knows that for the Gators to have a chance to make a deep run into March that Lee has to be a true offensive threat. He has already proven he can handle the ball, pass, rebound and play good defense, but the shot making was absent until Providence. Can he sustain it?   “It’s no secret,” Golden said Monday afternoon. “We need him to be better for us to be good, to be the best we can be.”   Limiting the turnovers was huge against Providence. It needs to carry over to tonight’s game. Cameron is one of the more difficult arenas in all of college basketball and teams that get sloppy with the ball ignite the crazies in the stand to take their harassment to a whole new level.   “If we take care of the ball we can be pretty effective offensively,” Golden said.   The Gators are averaging 85.9 points per game which is rather remarkable considering the Gators are only shooting 44 percent from the field and 27.7 percent from the 3-point line. If the guys on the perimeter can continue to rain in shots, the Gators will be very good. Combine making shots with taking care of the ball and Florida will be one of the more dangerous teams in the country.   Duke has a tall, talented front line led by freshman Cameron Boozer, a Miami Columbus product who Florida recruited heavily. Boozer is averaging 22.9 points, 9.8 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game. He is joined on the front line by 6-11 Patrick Ngongba and 6-8 Dame Sarr. Ngongba averages 12.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per game while Sarr averages 7.5 points and 4.1 rebounds.   Florida will counter with its own tall, talented front line led by 6-9 Tommy Haugh, the Gators’ leading scorer at 17.9 points per game. Alex Condon (6-11), who missed the Providence game scores at 15.7 while Rueben Chinyelu (6-11) is averaging 11.1 points and 10.1 rebounds.   “I think our roster is built in a way that could potentially give them some issues,” Golden said. “Their front court is fantastic, Cam Boozer obviously playing like one of the best players in America. My hope is our front court, our size and physicality can provide some good defense that way.”   It isn’t a must win game since it’s just now December, but it will be a good measuring stick for Golden to see how far the Gators came during their seven games in November and how far they need to go in December to prep for the SEC portion of the schedule.   “This is a great opportunity for us to go out there tomorrow night and see how well we’re able to play,” Golden said.     Anticipated starting lineups No. 15 FLORIDA (5-2): Alex Condon (6-11, 235, JR); Rueben Chinyelu (6-11, 265, JR); Tommy Haugh (6-9, 215, JR); Xaivian Lee (6-4, 185, SR); Boogie Fland (6-3, 185, JR)   No. 4 Duke (8-0): Cameron Boozer (6-9, 250, FR); Patrick Ngongba (6-11, 250, SO); Dame Sarr (6-8, 190, FR); Isaiah Evans (6-6, 180, SO); Caleb Foster (6-5, 205, JR)   Associated Press top 25: 1. Purdue 7-0; 2. Arizona 7-0; 3. Michigan 7-0; 4. Duke 8-0; 5. UConn 6-1; 6. Louisville 7-0; 7. Michigan State 7-0; 8. Houston 7-1; 9. BYU 6-1; 10. Iowa State 7-0; 11. Gonzaga 7-1; 12. Alabama 5-2; 13. Tennessee 7-1; 14. Illinois 6-2; 15. FLORIDA 5-2; 16. North Carolina 6-1; 17. Vanderbilt 8-0; 18. Kentucky 5-2; 19. Texas Tech 6-2; 20. Auburn 6-2; 21. Kansas 6-2; 22. Indiana 7-0; 23. St. John’s 4-3; 24. Southern California 7-0; 25. Arkansas 5-2   Coaches top 25: 1. Purdue 7-0; 2. Michigan 7-0; 3. Arizona 7-0; 4. Duke 8-0; 5. UConn 6-1; 7. Houston 7-1; 8. Michigan State 7-0; 9. Iowa State 7-0; 10. BYU 6-1; 11. Gonzaga 7-1; 12. Alabama 5-2; 13. Tennessee 7-1; 14. FLORIDA 5-2; 15. Illinois 6-2; 16. Vanderbilt 8-0; 17. North Carolina 6-1; 18. Kentucky 5-2; 19. (Tie) Texas Tech 6-2; Indana 7-0; 21. Kansas 6-2; 22. St. John’s 4-3; 23. Arkansas 5-2; 24. Auburn 6-2; 25. Iowa 7-0   SEC BASKETBALL Tuesday’s games No. 15 FLORIDA (5-2) at No. 4 Duke (8-0) No. 13 Tennessee (7-1) at Syracuse (4-3) No. 16 North Carolina (6-1) at No. 18 Kentucky (5-2) Missouri (8-0) at Notre Dame (5-3) Georgia (7-1) at Florida State (5-2) Miami (6-2) at Ole Miss (5-2) Texas A&M (6-2) at Pittsburgh (5-3) Oklahoma (5-2) at Wake Forest (6-2) Virginia Tech (6-2) at South Carolina (5-2)

Jon Sumrall and family arrive in Gainesville (Photo courtesy of Bobby D'Alessio) “I’m built for this job. I was made for this job. Winners win. I’m a winner. We’re gonna win.” – Jon Sumrall   Those weren’t the boastful words of a coach trying to convince everyone including himself that he is capable of handling the pressure that comes with the territory when the job is to restore to greatness a formerly great football program. At his introductory press conference Monday afternoon, Sumrall came across confident, capable and ever so well prepared.   He certainly didn’t sound like a consolation prize. Like everyone else on the planet, Sumrall is well aware that Lane Kiffin was Florida’s first choice but the Gators chose to end their courtship of Kiffin Friday and instead wrap up Sumrall to the tune of six years and $45 million. Lane might have been the first choice for the better part of a month, but Sumrall might very well turn out to be the best choice over the long haul.   Lane has this habit of scorched earth exits and he’s never won a conference championship despite seven seasons of 10 or more wins in 14 seasons as a head coach. Sumrall (42-11) is in his fourth year as a head coach – the first two at Troy, the last two at Tulane – and he’s put his team in the conference championship game every single year.     Sure, it’s not at the SEC level, but not even Nick Saban or Steve Spurrier or Urban Meyer did that well in their first four years as a head coach. Spurrier and Urban, by the way, were at the Monday press conference in which Sumrall was officially announced as Florida’s 31 st head football coach and the successor to Billy Napier, fired after taking the Gators to three losing seasons in four years on the job.   Florida has actually had six losing seasons since Meyer retired from the UF job after the 2010 season. Much more like that and the Gators could find themselves in a hole that will take decades to dig out of. Sumrall has a plan to win immediately but he knows that life in the Southeastern Conference is a minefield.   “I know what we're in for,” Sumrall said. “Like I said earlier, I'm built for it. This is what I've wanted to do my entire life.”   He also knows that until he’s proven he can win on college football’s biggest stage there will be doubters. It’s one thing to win championships in the Sun Belt or American Conference; it’s something altogether different to win them in the SEC.   “It's the closest thing you get to the National Football League,” he said.   And he is right. All you have to do is check the NFL Draft every year. The SEC has more players drafted every year by a comfortable margin over the Big Ten, Big 12, ACC and other conferences.   Since one-platoon football was dropped after the 1963 season, six SEC schools have won a national championship – Alabama (12), Florida (3), Georgia (3), LSU (3), Auburn (1) and Tennessee (1). It can be done here at Florida but it will take a rebuild that starts with Sumrall convincing a significant number of current Gators to stick it out rather than test the waters of the portal.   “It starts with our current team,” Sumrall said. “I just got the chance to meet with those guys. Retention in these days of the college football world is the most important thing to build a team. We need those guys to stay, and that's the first recruiting effort I have. ”   National signing day is Wednesday and he hopes to convince a good many of the kids who committed to Billy Napier to stay the course and stick with the Gators. The portal will also factor in how the roster is built, but Sumrall would prefer to cherry pick good players from the portal rather than make that the main source of talent.   Tulane is in the American Conference championship game thanks to a plug and play quarterback from the portal. When Darian Mensah took a multi-million offer to play at Duke, Sumrall landed Jake Retzlaff from BYU, who has passed for 14 touchdowns and run for 14 more.   That’s the way Sumrall intends to use the portal.   “We will use the portal to enhance our team and to supplement where there may be holes or deficiencies,” he said. “We're going to run a player-driven program. ”   However Sumrall decides to build his roster, he has an impatient fan base that has grown weary of losing seasons and the decline of the program since Meyer retired from UF. There have been sparks of hope that never caught fire and sustained winning.   Sumrall made it abundantly clear that he is as impatient as the Florida fan base.   “We're going to do everything we can to win fast,” he said. “I have a plan for how we can win long-term, but I want to win tomorrow and today and every day. I already referenced my son. He's 12. When we play basketball in the backyard, he gets his butt kicked because I want to win. I'm not very patient.  “I respect the Florida fan base is not patient. They want to win right now, too. You've got the right coach. I'm wired that way. I'm not comfortable having a plan to win in eight years. I want to win tomorrow.” That doesn’t sound much like a consolation prize. Associated Press top 25: 1. Ohio State 12-0; 2. Indiana 12-0; 3. Georgia 11-1; 4. Oregon 11-1; 5. Texas Tech 11-1; 6. Ole Miss 11-1; 7. Texas A&M 11-1; 8. Oklahoma 10-2; 9. Notre Dame 10-2; 10. Alabama 10-2; 11. BYU 11-1; 12. Miami 10-2; 13. Vanderbilt 10-2; 14. Texas 9-3; 15. Utah 10-2; 16. Virginia 10-2; 17. Southern California 9-3; 18. Michigan 9-3; 19. James Madison 11-1; 20. North Texas 11-1; 21. Tulane 10-2; 22. Arizona 9-3; 23. Navy 9-2; 24. Georgia Tech 9-3; 25. Missouri 8-4   AFCA Coaches top 25: 1. Ohio State 12-0; 2. Indiana 12-0; 3. Georgia 11-1; 4. Oregon 11-1; 5. Texas Tech 11-1; 6. Ole Miss 11-1; 7. Texas A&M 11-1; 8. Oklahoma 10-2; 9. Notre Dame 10-2; 10. Alabama 10-2; 11. BYU 11-1; 12. Vanderbilt 10-2; 13. Miami 10-2; 14. Texas 9-3; 15. Utah 10-2; 16. Virginia 10-2; 17. Southern California 9-3; 18. Michigan 9-3; 20. North Texas 11-1; 21. Tulane 10-2; 22. Arizona 9-3; 23.Georgia Tech 9-3; 24. Tennessee 8-4; 25. Navy 9-2   COUNTDOWN TO FIRING DAY: DECEMBER 1, EDITION THE RECYCLE BIN James Franklin, Virginia Tech: He will be a good fit for Virginia Tech where expectations aren’t nearly as high as they are in Happy Valley.   EXTINCT SPECIES LIST Mark Stoops, Kentucky: The fine folks in the Bluegrass are willing to pony up $38 million and Stoops will take it in incremental payments. Meanwhile, Kentucky needs a brand new coach.   Billy Napier, Florida: The Gators chased after Lane Kiffin but ended up hiring Tulane’s Jon Sumrall, which general consensus is a rather good hire. Napier is being paid $20 million to not coach the Gators. Figure he will emerge in the Group of Five.   Brian Kelly, LSU: Kelly got $54 million when fired. He originally signed a 10-year, $100 million contract. LSU is paying Lane Kiffin $90 million over seven years. Kelly wants to coach again. He’ll get the chance.   Hugh Freeze, Auburn: South Florida coach Alex Golesh was hired Sunday. Golesh took South Florida to a 9-3 record this year and 23-15 in three. His massive rebuild makes USF a very favorable situation for whoever replaces him. Watch Hugh land a job somewhere at a Group of Five school.   Sam Pittman, Arkansas: Arkansas whiffed on Rhett Lashlee (stayed at SMU) and Eric Morris (North Texas to Oklahoma State) but hired Memphis coach Ryan Silverfield on Sunday. Silverfield is 8-4 in 2025, but won 21 games in the previous two seasons.   James Franklin, Penn State: Matt Rhule is staying at Nebraska. Fired New York Giants coach Brian Daboll seems to be the hot ticket item.   Jonathan Smith, Michigan State: They are already moving fast to get a deal done with former Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald.   Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State: The replacement is Eric Morris, who has taken North Texas to an 11-1 record and the American Conference championship game.   Brent Pry, Virginia Tech: Replaced by James Franklin.   DeShaun Foster, UCLA: Indiana hit the jackpot with James Madison coach Curt Cignetti. UCLA is trying the same formula. New coach is Bob Chesney, Cignetti’s replacement coach at JMU.   Jay Norvell, Colorado State: Replaced by UConn coach Jim Mora, who has taken UConn to consecutive 9-win seasons.   Justin Wilcox, California: The Golden Bears responded to his firing by beating SMU and knocking the Mustangs out of the ACC championship game.   Trent Bray, Oregon State: The replacement coach is JaMarcus Shepherd, the co-offensive coordinator and receivers coach at Alabama.   Trent Dilfer, UAB: SMU offensive coordinator Casey Woods is the person of interest.   ON LIFE SUPPORT Dell McGee, Georgia State: The Panthers went 1-11. It seems a matter of when not if Georgia State pulls the plug.   Luke Fickell, Wisconsin: He’s safe for now, but back-to-back losing seasons require winning big in 2026.   ENDANGERED SPECIES LIST Derek Mason, Middle Tennessee: If they had enough money to fire him he would be gone.   Shane Beamer, South Carolina: Staff overhaul is a requirement. Super hot seat for 2026.   Joe Moorhead, Akron: He won five games which is the equivalent of Alabama winning 15. He stays on the hot seat.   Sonny Cumbie, Louisiana Tech: A 7-5 record buys him a year but Louisiana Tech steps up next year to the Sun Belt.   Jay Sawvel, Wyoming: He sits on a very hot seat but he’ll get next year to turn things around.

DJ Lagway hands off to Jadan Baugh for one of his 38 carries Saturday night. Photo by Hanna White University of Florida. By Carlton Reese GatorBait Media Finally, a night of joy in The Swamp. The nightmare of 2025 ended Saturday night and no one was concerned with the spurning of Lane Kiffin or the 4-8 record, or even that it was a bitter rival that Florida took care of on Senior Night. For one night, all that mattered was the Gators dominated an opponent and the cool vibes of Florida football and the passion that is the collegiate game pushed the bitter doldrums to the side of the road. At least for a night. Florida crushed FSU, 40-21, no great feat given the state of the Seminoles’ program, but it was much needed, especially in the manner in which it transpired. If the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were 3-8 and facing the Miami Dolphins on the last game of the season, no one would care. But Florida football matters, no matter what the records are, especially when FSU comes to town. The Florida players which seemed to lay down a week ago against Tennessee brought their passion to the ballpark and were rewarded handsomely. No one deserved that reward more than Jadan Baugh, who did not lay down against the Vols, but ran his butt off to the very end of what is best described as a humiliation. There was no reward for the effort last week – that reward came Saturday night in what was one of the greatest single performances by a Gator running back in the program’s history, and not just because of the statistics he piled up. Baugh delivered blow after a blow and wore down the Seminoles defense while he seemed to gain speed as the game wore on. Baugh carried 38 times for 266 yards – the hard way, the Chuck Foreman way, bruising defenders in chunks of five and six yards of hand-to-hand combat. On Florida’s first play from scrimmage, he tore off a 21-yard run and that would be the last of his Tony Dorsett-type runs. After that, it was all Larry Csonka, just banging into defenders who will all have an unpleasant Sunday icing the wounds inflicted by Baugh. If anyone deserved the standing ovation, it was Baugh and his maligned offensive line that helped plow the way for many of those yards. There was no secret to Florida’s game plan: Hand the ball off to Baugh and enjoy the ride. FSU knew what was coming, the 90,007 fans in attendance knew what was coming, yet Baugh could not be stopped. The coup de grace came on Florida’s final drive, set up by a failed FSU onside kick recovered appropriately enough by Baugh. Down 34-21, FSU coach Mike Norvell went Urban Meyer on his own players, exhausting all three of his timeouts to prolong his own team’s misery and give Baugh time to catch his breath between plays so he could inflict more damage. It was time to have some fun, and who could blame the Gators for milking every second and every point to be had. Florida would not lay down – this was it. Baugh carried every play on the drive and none were breakaways: 5, 7, 15, 2, 5, 6 and 4. On 4 th -and-3 from the FSU 12, Baugh tore through three tacklers en route to the end zone. Those three FSU defenders, left helpless and exhausted on the Florida Field turf, would be in their right mind to demand the immediate dismissal of their embattled coach for making them endure this punishment. Baugh has been Florida’s Sisyphus all year, carrying the rock as a heavy burden with nothing to show for it. In this case, Sisyphus finally made it up the hill – Baugh eclipsed the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the season and produced the second-best statistical day ever for a Florida running back. He deserved this night. The Florida offensive line also deserved this night. Coming into the season, the unit was held as one of the top veteran units in the country, but as things went south the line incurred much blame. Seniors Jake Slaughter, Dameon George and Austin Barber made Baugh’s night possible and they earned their reward in their final game. The way this season has gone, FSU’s arrival seemed the answer to a sick kid’s “Make A Wish” foundation request. “Can I get a win please and maybe a trip to Disney World?” Request answered: Here come the Seminoles, likely the worst team Florida played this year outside of Long Island. You think Florida has problems? Just take a look at FSU. No one in Tallahassee wants Norvell there anymore, not even the people who guaranteed he would remain as coach there into next season. The only reason Norvell remains at FSU is because the bank account is about as healthy has its dwindling endowment. They just can’t afford to send him packing, so they’re stuck with him. As for the Gators, today is the time to enjoy a win over the Seminoles and perhaps even relax now that you are no longer forced into liking Lane Kiffin. Hate away on that guy the way we always did – it actually feels pretty good. In due time, all the attention will be on the dismal failure that was 2025, all the negativity that comes with a 4-8 campaign when your season started with a top-15 ranking and playoff aspirations. But for now, it’s time have a little fun, smoke a victory cigar, and tease some of your filthy Nole friends who are now more down than you. There used to be a saying, “eat drink and be merry for tomorrow you may be in Utah.” Well, tonight we should all eat drink and be merry for tomorrow we will be in the reality of the end of a losing season. What a nice finish, but be glad it’s finally over.