GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Four games into his tenure as Florida's head coach, Jon Sumrall understands the buzz.
He was once a fan, a boy and his dad standing in line to enter Legion Field to watch Alabama and Florida play in the Southeastern Conference Championship Game.
Sumrall gets it. He gets the slaps on the back. He gets the increased attention from fans. He gets more media members wanting to interview him than when he was at Troy and Tulane.
And, well, he gets what it all means four games into his first season.
"I'm happy that we won each week so far. It beats the alternative,'' Sumrall said. "But I'm not, like, celebrating anything. Nobody in our building should be celebrating anything. If we are, then we're totally off-base at how you find success over the long term. We have to keep a humble, hungry, gritty blue-collar mindset. You know, tough teams win, selfless teams win. Teams that have an edge about them and hunger about them, they win.
"Complacent, soft, entitled, lazy, selfish teams, they lose."
Sumrall's words make his message clear to the No. 8-ranked Gators (4-0, 2-0) as they prepare to play No. 25 Missouri (3-1, 0-1) on Saturday afternoon.
Don't buy into the hype. Stay focused. Do your job.
This is the first Florida-Missouri game since 2023, when the Gators lost on a last-second field goal at Memorial Stadium. The Gators have made headlines with their best start in seven years. They took apart No. 4 Ole Miss last week at The Swamp, a sign to the national media that, yes, the Gators are finally back.
Tigers coach Eli Drinkwitz, who is 35-9 at home in his seven seasons, has seen enough to believe this will be a different test than his previous ones against Florida.
"Coach Sumrall has done an excellent job," Drinkwitz told reporters this week. "What an awesome job he's done in his first year at the helm. You can just see the energy that he brings, the passion — his energy is infectious. The way his team plays reflects the passion. If you know Jon at all, [it] just reflects the way he carries himself, the confidence and physicality that he brings."
A couple of meaningful streaks will be on the line Saturday in Missouri's homecoming game. The Tigers have lost nine consecutive games against teams ranked in the AP Top 25, the second-longest active streak among FBS programs. The Gators have lost two consecutive games at Missouri and three of the last four.
The bottom line: Sumrall's fifth game as Florida's coach is the most important yet.
Here is our latest edition of The Opening Kickoff for a closer look at the Florida-Missouri game: THREE STORYLINES
The Gators are off to their first 4-0 start in seven years and are ranked in the top 10 for the first time in five years. Yes, it's been a while since the Gators fans have had this much to be excited about. They have not had much success at Missouri and suffered an overtime loss in 2021 and a final-second loss in 2023 at Memorial Stadium. Those games came late in the season, and the Gators were not very good. Are the Gators too good in 2026 to suffer the same fate? We shall see.
Missouri has the best offensive line the Gators have faced, according to Sumrall. The numbers back him up. Cayden Green leads Mizzou's primary offensive linemen with an 89.5 pass-blocking grade, followed by Dominick Giudice (84.9), Tristan Wilson (82.8), Curtis Peagler (78.1) and Luke Work (75.4). Florida is averaging three sacks a game, and edge rusher Jayden Woods' strip-sack against Ole Miss was crucial. Will Woods and Co. disrupt Missouri's plans?
The Gators enter Saturday's game second nationally in scoring (53.5 points per game), fifth in total offense (532.8 yards) and eighth in yards per play (7.58). And when the Gators get into the red zone, the refs have signaled touchdown 14 times, leading the nation. First-year offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner has pressed all the right buttons during Florida's hot start, and Missouri's defense will be tested as it tries to crack Faulkner's code. Florida scored on five consecutive possessions after Ole Miss trimmed UF's lead to 17-14 a week ago. Ballgame.
THREE PLAYERS TO WATCH
Jadan Baugh, who else? The junior running back has run his way into the Heisman conversation with 600 yards through four games. He's on pace to rush for 1,800 yards and 33 touchdowns in the regular season. Those gaudy numbers might prove out of reach by season's end, but for now, anything seems possible with the way Baugh is playing and Florida's offense is moving up and down the field.
Remember in 2023 when quarterback Austin Simmons was a Florida commit? Much has transpired since then, with Simmons signing with Ole Miss and then transferring to Missouri after last season. Simmons has been very good with the Tigers, completing 70 of 107 for 947 yards, 11 touchdowns and no interceptions. Florida's defense answered the challenge against Auburn's Byrum Brown and Ole Miss' Trinidad Chambliss. Up next: Simmons.
Quarterback Aaron Philo has been excellent for the Gators, with Vernell Brown III his favorite target. With Brown a game-time decision due to a knee injury, Eric Singleton Jr. could provide huge relief if Brown can't play. Singleton suffered an ankle injury blocking for Brown on Florida's first drive of the season. He missed the Campbell and Auburn wins before returning to action for six snaps in last week's win over Ole Miss. A transfer from Auburn, Singleton hauled in a 38-yard catch against the Rebels, his first reception as a Gator.
FIVE QUESTIONS WITH … GATORS OL BRYCE LOVETT
A fourth-year junior from Rockledge, Fla., the 6-foot-5, 305-pound Lovett recommitted to physical conditioning with help from Jake Sankal, director of nutrition, and football performance director Rusty Whitt. Lovett lost his starting job at right tackle two games into last season, but after putting in the work in the offseason, he has moved to left tackle and has started every game for the undefeated Gators.
Bryce Lovett was named SEC Offensive Lineman of the Week for his performance in last week's win over Ole Miss. (Photo: Mia Tunon/UAA Communications)
Q: What went into your physical transformation since last season?
A: I met with Coach Jake [Sankal] in the beginning and just like told him I was ready to commit. Like I've been preaching about changing my body since I got here, pretty much. And I kind of been cutting corners a little bit, like diet-wise. I always put in hard work in the weight room and stuff, but definitely met with him, just changed the diet, and then obviously Coach Whit came in, held us to a very high standard, and I bought in.
Q: What was your favorite food you had to give up?
A: Chick-fil-A, for sure. I love Chick-fil-A breakfast, but I cut it out. I haven't had fried chicken or anything like that since the beginning of the offseason, so I mean, it's working for me.
Q: How did you prove you were ready for the challenge at left tackle?
A: They believed in me kind of before I believed in myself, and I think that kind of helped me get out there when I got on the island. Having them all stand behind me kind of just kind of proving myself, where it showed me that like I have the ability to do it. So once I bought into the process and started believing in myself, it really started working.
Q: What are your thoughts on people saying you have high first-round potential in draft?
A: It feels good, but at the end of the day, my goal is to get through the season, get as much wins as I can, and just put the best stuff on tape. Like I said, kind of block out the noise, the good and the bad. So when I get to hear that kind of stuff, obviously it feels good. I try to block it out and just go to the next one.
Q: Would you have given up Chick-fil-A without getting benched?
A: Never know.
THREE DIGITS
11 — Rushing touchdowns for Gators running back Jadan Baugh, which matches Alabama's Najee Harris (2020) and LSU's Leonard Fournette (2015) for the most through four games by an SEC player since conference expansion in 1992. 144 — Yards Baugh needs Saturday to reach 1,000 through his last six games. Baugh has scorched FSU (266), FAU (160), Campbell (136), Auburn (162) and Ole Miss (142) in his last five games. 1,599 — Rushing yards for Emmitt Smith in 1989, which remains Florida's single-season record.
AVAILABILITY REPORT*
FLORIDA — OUT: RB Kelvin Jimenez (knee).QUESTIONABLE: WR Vernell Brown III (knee); WR Bailey Stockton (back). PROBABLE: WR Eric Singleton Jr. (ankle). MISSOURI — OUT: RB Ahmad Hardy (leg), RB Malae Fonoti (undisclosed), OL Josh Atkins (undisclosed), TE Gavin Hoffman (undisclosed), DB JaDon Blair (undisclosed). QUESTIONABLE: DL Darris Smith (lower body), DL Langden Kitchen (lower body), LB Bobby Washington Jr. (undisclosed).
*Updated Thursday morning NEWS, NOTES, NUGGETS
This is the 14th all-time meeting between the Gators and Missouri. The Tigers own a 7-6 advantage, including 4-2 at Memorial Stadium. The schools have split 12 games since Missouri joined the SEC in 2012.
Jon Sumrall is the first coach in SEC history to have a team score more than 200 points (214) through his first four games leading a conference program.
The only first-year UF coaches to lead the Gators to a higher ranking are Urban Meyer (No. 5, 2005) and Steve Spurrier (No. 6, 1990).
Florida's first four opponents of the season have a combined 12-4 record. Their only loss came to the Gators.
The Gators have scored 28 touchdowns, one shy of matching last season's total. Florida's 214 points rank second in program history behind the 1996 team (217) for most points through the first four games of the season.
Florida's 52 points against No. 4 Ole Miss ties the program record for most points against a top-five opponent. Florida defeated No. 1-ranked FSU, 52-20, to win the national championship in 1996.
In 214 snaps over the past two seasons with receivers Vernell Brown III and Dallas Wilson both on the field, the Gators have averaged 7.8 yards per play and scored 13 touchdowns.
Former Gators receiver Naeshaun Montgomery, who was a UF freshman in 2025, has started all four games for Missouri. He has five receptions for 66 yards.
The matchup is Missouri's homecoming game and will be the Tigers' 23rd consecutive sellout at Memorial Stadium, a program record.
Missouri receivers Cayden Lee and Donovan Olugbode have a combined 725 yards, fifth nationally among teammates. The tandem leads the country in combined receiving touchdowns (nine).
CHARTING THE GATORS
The No. 8 Gators are ranked higher in the polls than they have been in years. First-year head coach Jon Sumrall could care less. Still, old-school Gators remember when a top-10 ranking was the norm, not the exception. But that has not been the case lately. A look at Florida's last 10 true SEC road games when ranked 10th or higher in the AP Top 25:
SEASON
RANKING
OPPONENT
RESULT
COACH
2021
No. 10
@Kentucky
L, 20-13
Dan Mullen
2020
No. 6
@Tennessee
W, 31-19
Dan Mullen
2020
No. 6
@Vanderbilt
W, 38-17
Dan Mullen
2020
No. 4
@Texas A&M
L, 41-38
Dan Mullen
2020
No. 5
@Ole Miss
W, 51-35
Dan Mullen
2019
No. 9
@South Carolina
W, 38-27
Dan Mullen
2019
No. 7
@LSU
L, 42-28
Dan Mullen
2019
No. 9
@Kentucky
W, 29-21
Dan Mullen
2016
No. 10
@Arkansas
L, 31-10
Jim McElwain
2015
No. 8
@LSU
L, 35-28
Jim McElwain
THEY SAID IT
"I think they get better as the game goes. You look at the run game, and early in the game, it's usually harder to run than it is later. But if you're getting four yards, five yards in the first quarter, you kind of project out; those can be six, seven, eight-yard gains later as the game goes. You can see their confidence as the game went on." — Offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner on the offensive line's performance against Ole Miss.
"At East Carolina I did kick return, so coming into Florida, I was just big on special teams. I was like, 'Hey Coach, I was a returner at East Carolina, and that was just kind of a thing I was looking forward to [doing] because I did it at ECU.' It's a big role for me; to be the kick returner at Florida is an honor. I'm glad they trust me in that position." — Transfer running back London Montgomery, the SEC Special Teams Player of the Week
"I'm loving it. Coach Buster puts us in a good spot to have blocking as well, so when you're blocking downfield for guys who are making plays, like a tight end, or when the running back has the ball, or even on a scramble drill when Philo is scrambling, you have those aspects to add to your game and not just like you're running routes, even though that's a great thing and all. Adding that to your bag is also elite." — UF receiver Dallas Wilson on Faulkner's impact
This portion of the preview is simple: keep doing what they have been doing. The Gators have scored more than 40 points in every game, and that should be enough to spoil Missouri's homecoming Saturday. The Tigers will move the ball, but as long as the Gators take care of the ball on offense and limit huge plays defensively, they should come away with their first win in Columbia since 2019.
WHY MISSOURI WILL WIN
Quarterback Austin Simmons gets comfortable early and starts chewing up the Gators — something Trinidad Chambliss couldn't do last week at The Swamp — and wears down Florida's defense. That would force the Gators to get out of balance on offense and play catch-up.
