Jon Sumrall's first game as Florida's head coach wasn't a nervy debut — it was a 45-point beatdown of Florida Atlantic in front of a packed Swamp.
The headline storyline heading into Saturday was never really about FAU — it was about who would be running Florida's offense. DJ Lagway is gone, off to Baylor, and in his place Sumrall handed the keys to Georgia Tech transfer Aaron Philo for his first start in a Gators uniform. It was the first live look at both a new quarterback and the staff Sumrall built out this offseason after replacing Billy Napier.
+Added 30-plus transfers under a new staff, including Philo
+Historically perfect 4-0 all-time against FAU
−Aaron Philo making his first start in a Gators uniform
−Brand-new coaching staff running an unproven system live
FAU, for its part, arrived as a rebuilding program in its own right. Zach Kittley is still just in year 2 in Boca Raton after a 4-8 debut season in 2025, and this trip to Gainesville to open a brand-new SEC era was about as tough a proving ground as college football offers in Week 1. The Owls had never beaten Florida in four all-time tries, and nothing about the roster gap suggested that history was about to change.
It didn't. Philo needed only 21 throws to hit 16 of them for 275 yards and 3 touchdowns, tacking on a rushing score for good measure, and Jadan Baugh ran through, over and around FAU's front for 160 yards and 3 touchdowns on just 14 carries. Vernell Brown III led all receivers with 6 catches for 117 yards and a score. Florida scored in every single quarter.
The lopsided score obscures a wrinkle Sumrall will want cleaned up before conference play: FAU managed only 47 yards across its first three drives, then ripped off back-to-back touchdown drives of 70-plus yards, and added a third long scoring drive late in the third quarter. A defense that lets an overmatched Group of 5 team move the ball that easily in stretches is a footnote in a 45-point win, but it won't be against SEC competition.
Duke Clark came in for relief work and made the most of it, adding a rushing touchdown and a receiving touchdown of his own, which is exactly the kind of two-deep production a new staff wants to see in a season opener. For one night at least, the Sumrall era in Gainesville looked every bit as buttoned-up as advertised.
