It’s been a rollercoaster of a first season for Florida Gators head coach Jon Sumrall. Going into Saturday’s game, it looked like the Gators were in freefall. With a road trip to play the Texas Longhorns, a favorite to make the College Football Playoff, it seemed like things would only get worse.
Then, Florida pulled off a massive upset and came from behind to knock off Texas. All of a sudden, Sumrall and the Gators are trending up again.
In the 27-24 win, Florida turned to Tramell Jones as their starting quarterback. He was limited, only throwing for 155 yards and 2 touchdowns, but he also made winning plays, like scrambling for a first down late on a read option. Then, the defense came up big, with 5 sacks and a forced fumble to help put the game on ice.
Florida Gators HC Jon Sumrall Says They Still Suck
There was, obviously, plenty to like from Florida on Saturday. There were still things to work on. That’s what Jon Sumrall tried to focus on, noting that he thinks that the Gators still suck. They might just suck a bit less now.
“In this game or in life,” Sumrall said. “You don’t get to go, ‘Hey, I was good last week, so I get to be good next week, right?’ I guess part of why we got our ass kicked in Missouri and last week at home is because everybody around Gainesville was patting our guys in the back telling them how good they were, and I’m like, guys, we suck. Like I’ve watched this practice, we’re not very good. We still suck. We just suck less, all right. And so, we have to figure out to suck less each week.”
The problem is that Florida still has some major issues to take care of. The secondary is susceptible to giving up big plays. The offense hasn’t been consistent, coming off two blowout losses in SEC play before the Texas win.
Sumrall is being a bit harsh to say his team sucks. But his point is well taken. One great win doesn’t make you a great team. It makes you a team that had a great win.
“But we’re not like a complete team yet. So, this does nothing for us. What it does for us, it gets us another win. But the thing it does more than a ranked win or a road win or whatever those stats are, what it does for me, it gives me belief and hope that our guys understand you have to fight your tail off every time you play the game. … I’m just glad our guys brought it,” Sumrall said.
What’s Next for Florida?
The Florida Gators are going to head home to Gainesville now. There, they’ll have a bye week to keep on improving and becoming the team that Sumrall wants them to become. They better take some strides, too, because there are no breaks in the schedule after that.
On Halloween, Florida will play its next game against the Georgia Bulldogs. One of the great rivalry games in the SEC, Georgia is coming off an upset loss last week and will also have a bye week to get right. So, the Gators should be ready for a massive fight.
A neutral-site game, this year’s edition of the game is moving from Jacksonville to Atlanta. There, kickoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. EST on October 31st.
This article was originally published on HEAVY
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