Gifted to Sumrall before the game by a pair of well-respected Texas student organizations – the UT Silver Spurs and Texas Cowboys – Sumrall appreciated the friendly welcome to DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium on Saturday morning.
Images of Sumrall wearing it as he departed the stadium a few hours later went viral on social media, earning him the lead role on ESPN.com's frivolous top trolls of Week 7 following Florida's 27-24 win over the No. 7 Longhorns.
The pageantry is what makes college football unique, and Sumrall's not-afraid-to-have-fun personality added flavor to his biggest victory in seven games as Florida's head coach. The whole episode evoked HBC vibes for many long-time Gators fans.
But so did something else.
Gators head coach Jon Sumrall exits the win at Texas wearing a new cowboy hat. (Photo: Hannah White/UAA Communications)
Did you hear what Sumrall said a few minutes before he slapped on the cowboy hat and left the building?
In his postgame press conference, Sumrall talked about how the Gators started to believe the hype after their 4-0 start. He had cautioned anyone listening in the preceding weeks that Florida was a flawed team, but after back-to-back losses to Missouri and South Carolina, the reaction suggested that few had been paying close attention.
They were just counting the wins.
Not Sumrall.
"I'm like, 'Guys, we suck. I've watched us practice. We're not very good.' We still suck,'' he said. "We just sucked less. All right? And so, we have to figure out how to suck less each week."
The entire episode reminded me of Spurrier's reaction after a 16-10 win at Alabama in 1998.
The eighth-ranked Gators, unlike the underdog Florida team at Texas, were heavy favorites to knock off the Crimson Tide in just their second visit to Tuscaloosa in Spurrier's nine seasons. They had won at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Spurrier's second game as UF's coach in 1990.
Alternating between quarterbacks Jesse Palmer and Doug Johnson, the Gators amassed 467 yards to 240 for Alabama. Running back Terry Jackson rushed for 135 yards and receiver Travis McGriff hauled in nine receptions for 213 yards.
Still, facing the Mike Dubose-era Crimson Tide, the Gators managed only one touchdown, marking the first time Spurrier's Gators had won a game when finding the end zone just once. The Gators turned the ball over three times inside Alabama's 10-yard line.
"It feels like a loss,'' Palmer said after the game.
Spurrier had plenty more to say.
"We don't play like champions anymore – the Gators play like a bunch of losers,'' he fumed afterward. "We're not smart enough or tough enough. I don't know what it is, but we're just an average bunch right now.
"It just really irritates me. I'm starting to get irritated with this bunch. It's embarrassing to coach a team that plays this way."
Former Gators coach Steve Spurrier in his famous visor at the homecoming game against South Carolina. (Photo: Victoria Riccobono/UAA Communications)
By the next day, Spurrier had softened his tone. He traveled to Tampa to watch several former UF players in the Bucs-Giants game at Raymond James Stadium. He also got to see former FSU quarterback Danny Kanell play poorly in the Giants' 20-3 loss.
"My comments were a little harsh,'' he said. "I didn't say we were a bunch of losers. I said we're playing like a bunch of losers, when means we're coaching like a bunch of losers, also."
It was one of the rare times Spurrier's famous tongue took a step back, but his point had been made. The Gators won the following week at home against LSU and didn't lose again until the regular-season finale in Tallahassee. They rebounded to defeat Syracuse in the Orange Bowl and finish 10-2.
Sumrall faces a more difficult challenge.
Spurrier's 1998 Gators were two seasons removed from the program's first national championship and loaded with talent.
They rarely sucked.
The current Gators sometimes resemble an identity crisis in cleats. They beat Ole Miss, then got blown out at Missouri. They lost to South Carolina at home, then went on the road and beat Texas.
After what happened around the Southeastern Conference and the nation Saturday, nothing is guaranteed.
"This league, man, like there's nowhere to hide,'' Sumrall said. "Week in week out, it's the closest thing you got to the NFL, and you got to bring it every freaking Saturday. I'm just glad our guys brought it."
Florida moved back into the AP Top 25 on Sunday, checking in at No. 20 after rising as high as eighth and dropping completely out after the homecoming loss to the Gamecocks. They face No. 5 Georgia after the bye week.
The Bulldogs are smarting after their fall from the top spot in Saturday's 27-24 home loss to Auburn. Life in the SEC is brutal. It was brutal in 1998 when the Gators struggled at Alabama – the Crimson Tide were coming off a 42-6 loss at Arkansas – and it remains so today.
Spurrier was annoyed when he tossed his visor and ripped into his team publicly. Sumrall took the opposite approach, using a quip to serve as a reality check for where his first UF team stands at a critical point in the season.
Will the Gators heed his message? Will they ignore the rekindled excitement and pats on the back until the Georgia game? Can they beat the Bulldogs?
They are at least trending back in the right direction.
The images of Spurrier and his famous visor remain part of the fabric of the Florida program. By listening closely to what Sumrall said Saturday, perhaps his new cowboy hat will find a place on the program's mantle someday.
He certainly has a way with words. Sort of like that other guy.
