Gators head coach Jon Sumrall reacts on the sideline during his team's loss to Oklahoma on Saturday. (Photo: Matt Pendleton/Imagn Images)
Carter's Corner: Uncle Buck Has Questions About Gators
Sunday, November 8, 2026 | Football, Scott Carter
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By: Scott Carter, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Uncle Buck called Sunday morning before he went to play golf with his buddies at their Orlando country club. He wanted to talk about the Gators.
Big B – that's what the family calls him – was not at Saturday night's 23-7 loss to Oklahoma. He's at most home games, goes to at least one road game a season, and has been a Gators booster since Steve Spurrier's Fun 'n' Gun days.
He's not the kind of big-spender that can hand over a million bucks for an outside linebacker every year, but he contributes much more than pocket change to his alma mater.
And there is no questioning his passion: Big B has at least two bright orange sport coats in his closet. I've seen them.
Big B was in no mood for small talk.
"My tee time is soon, but I gotta know, what happened?" he asked. "Did we just forget how to play?"
"Did you watch the game?'' I replied.
"No, your aunt Sandy and I had a nice dinner out and went to see that new Rocky movie. She made me go."
Following a brief aside over my surprise about another Rocky movie being made, I did my best to answer.
I mentioned the usual suspects: offensive line struggles, lack of a running game, inconsistent quarterback play, no turnovers for the defense, Oklahoma's offense dominating time of possession, yada, yada, yada.
Big B listened as he puffed on his cigar, blowing out an occasional grunt.
"I just don't get it,'' he said. "We looked so good at the start of the season. I was ready to reschedule that trip to Alaska your aunt has planned in case we made the national championship."
At that point, I may have grunted, uncertain of what to say.
Fortunately, I had Gators coach Jon Sumrall's press conference cued on my laptop. I held my iPhone nearby and asked Big B if he wanted to hear a couple of soundbites.
"Crank it up, buddy,'' he said.
"OK, here goes."
Sumrall: "I don't have a whole lot of words that are going to make any of this right. There's nothing I can say that's going to make it better today. We have to go back to work. What we've been doing is not working good enough. We have to find new things to make us be successful. We're going to continue to work tirelessly to do so. Am I frustrated? Yeah. Am I disappointed? Yeah. But I'm not going to whine and complain. It ain't gonna help us. I really feel really bad for the performance we put on."
Uncle Buck – we call him Big B – checked in on the Gators Sunday morning. (Photo: AI generated via ChatGPT.com)
Big B: "Doesn't sound good, does it?"
Me: "Not really, but I'm not that surprised."
Big B: "What do you mean?"
Me: "Worst thing that could have happened was that 4-0 start. It warped everyone's perceptions. I get it. That's part of being a fan. I figured if they won seven or eight games this year, that would be a good sign. He kept saying after every win that they were not a great team. But fans are so hungry for a winner, they tuned him out."
Big B: "I know I am. I ain't got that many years left and this ain't no fun. He say anything else? We didn't get back from that Rocky movie until late, so I ain't had much time to catch up."
Me: "Let me find the part about the offense. Obviously, they only had 207 yards and Tramell Jones Jr. didn't do much, Vernell Brown III missed another game, and Jadan Baugh, other than the touchdown, didn't do much. Nobody did much, really."
Sumrall: "We still have to continue to help whoever the quarterback is better than we have at times. As soon as it felt like we would get something positive started offensively, we had a penalty that would bring us back. We never could find our rhythm. Some of that was the things going around the quarterback."
Big B: "I don't like that at all."
Me: "Be glad you're not on X."
Big B: "Ain't that a spaceship or something?"
Me: "Ha, seems like it sometimes."
Big B: "Did he say anything how they are going to score some points? I mean, I scored more before I met Sandy than they have lately."
Me: "Yeah, he did mention more about the offense. Hold on, I'll find it."
Sumrall: "We're the same offense that scored 50 in an SEC game earlier this year. Right now, we feel a little bit lost. There's going to be tough games, but you have to be able to know, hey, this is what we're good at and this is how we're going to hang in the game and, right now, we don't have that identity clear enough offensively."
For a brief moment, Big B had nothing to say.
Finally, he spoke.
"Sounds to me like they have a lot to practice on this week," he said.
"Yeah, sounds like it,'' I said.
Big B: "You think any chance they turn it around and can win any of these last three games?"
Me: "Well, Coach was asked about a downward spiral. I'll play it for you."
Sumrall: "To some degree it feels like the spiral's already started, right? We haven't been on the longest stretch that I would like to see us on. To me, what really dictates whether it's a spiral, though, for the long term is do we show up? Nobody is going to feel sorry for us. I think from an execution standpoint, there already is a spiral. We have to be more detailed in what we're doing to make improvements and adjustments. We've got to stop the train going the wrong direction."
Big B: "He ain't lying about that train part. I'm rooting they get it done. My golf game sucks right now and I need something to get excited about."
Me: "We'll see what they do at Kentucky. Been a tough place for them lately. Either way, they have a busy offseason ahead. If they can get bowl-eligible and get two or three more wins, that would be a good finish."
Big B: "You got that right, partner. Well, thanks for taking my call and filling me. I know my golf buddies will be talkin' trash. Well, except Chester, he's an LSU fan. He may not even show up."
