Jon Sumrall Sends Clear Message to Florida Fans Who Booed During Loss

The Florida Gators lost their second-straight contest on Saturday, this time losing 38-19 to the South Carolina Gamecocks.

The loss even forced Florida to fall out of the AP Top 25 rankings.

The packed Ben Hill Griffin Stadium erupted in boos against the Gators throughout the contest, especially when it was clear Florida would lose the game in the second half. That isn't something any college football team or coach wants to hear from their fans.

Florida coach Jon Sumrall didn't seem bothered by the boos, though. He was asked about the booing in his post-game press conference, and Sumrall simply said he would not "take a shot" at the team's fans. He was inspired by their booing, if anything.

"They have the right to boo," Sumrall said. "The thing I love is we have passionate, awesome fans. Why you come to the University of Florida is because people care. They have the right to boo, I'm good. I'd like for them to not boo, but I'm not going to sit there and take my headset off and go 'Are they booing or cheering?'

"We're going to do everything we can to try and win the game," Sumrall continued. "I love that our fans care enough to boo. Like, good, let the stands be full and them be passionate and pissed off when something's not going good. I don't want them to applaud when we're not playing well. We do need their support, we need them behind the guys."

The Gators can likely expect more boos next weekend when they face the No. 7 Texas Longhorns. Or, maybe the criticism will light a fire from within the squad to produce an upset against Texas. But, don't hold your breath.

Even if Gators fans do boo Florida, just know Sumrall won't be bothered. Hopefully he gives a similar message to his team when speaking to them about the crowd, otherwise the boos could be impacting the players.