On Sept. 5, the Florida Gators kicked off the Jon Sumrall era in style, dominating the Florida Atlantic Owls 66-21 in front of a sold-out Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Now, one week later, the Gators will look to start 2-0 for the first time since 2021.
The obstacle in UF’s path Saturday is Campbell, who has already matched its 2025 win total with a 2-0 start. It marks the first time since 2018 that the Camels have won their first two contests, showcasing drastic improvement in Braxton Harris’ third year as head coach.
While there is no doubt the Gators are massive favorites headed into a contest they paid their opponents $525,000 to play, it doesn’t mean UF is overlooking another chance to get better on all fronts.
“I have a lot of respect for this football team,” Sumrall said Monday. “They're well coached. They have improved a ton from last year … They're a totally different football team.”
Here are the three major keys Florida needs to hone in on to take down the Camels.
Run the Baugh (and let the rest of the running back room shine too)
Against the Owls, Florida’s offense exploded for 66 points and 624 total yards in an all-around masterclass by offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner’s unit. But there was one player who stood out from the crowd, and there’s no surprise he did: junior running back Jadan Baugh.
After racking up 1,170 yards and eight touchdowns on the ground in his sophomore campaign, the Atlanta native started 2026 right where he left off. On just 14 carries Saturday, Baugh exploded for 160 yards and three touchdowns. He also recorded a new career-high 61-yard burst early in the third quarter. He followed up with a touchdown one play later on his final carry of the night.
But Baugh, who ESPN’s Mel Kiper labeled as the “favorite” to be the first back off the board in the 2027 NFL Draft, isn’t satisfied with that stat line. He’s hungry for more, and he knows he’s gonna get plenty of opportunities to shine.
“That's what we work on,” Baugh said Saturday. “We want to let the whole world know, when we are running the ball, we're going to run the ball. We want y’all to be able to understand that y’all can't stop it. We just ready to keep putting our best foot forward.”
And it’s not just Baugh who is a potential game-breaker out of the backfield. Four other running backs received carries in the season opener, a list that doesn’t even include Cincinnati transfer Evan Pryor, who suffered a minor injury in the first quarter.
But among that group of four, sophomore Duke Clark stood out from the pack. After an injury-riddled 2025 season where he only put up 15 carries for 58 yards, the 6-foot-2 back exceeded that yard-mark with 64 on eight carries while finding the end zone. He also made a 10-yard catch for a score, syncing up with junior quarterback Aaron Philo on an escape-artist-esque play by the UF signal caller.
While Clark said he was just “excited” to finally find the end zone for the first time in his collegiate career, he credited Baugh as a major reason for his improvement throughout the offseason and into the 2026 campaign.
“I pick a lot of things up from him,” Clark said Tuesday. “We go back and watch film, and be like, ‘You could have made that cut, I know you got it.” Or he teach me how to jump cut or if I need to be faster, do this, do it a little faster. He’s a great teacher.”
Further, East Carolina transfer London Montgomery and sophomore Byron Louis were effective in their limited playing time, with both backs averaging 4 yards per carry. With five backs that can contribute to winning football and just one ball to go around, it presents a good problem to have for the Gators going forward.
Campbell’s defense has only surrendered 3.1 yards per carry through two games, but, obviously, the talent it has faced thus far pales in comparison to the star-studded lineup the Gators will put forth Saturday.
Dominate at the line of scrimmage
Against Florida Atlantic, the Gators were the superior team on both the offensive and defensive lines, which contributed to the dominance of their victory.
Florida’s offensive line surrendered just seven total quarterback hurries, a solid performance for a unit that has four new starters this season and lost its starting left tackle, Bryce Lovett, for the entirety of the third quarter. In Lovett’s place, true freshman TJ Dice Jr. stepped in and played admirably, earning praise from both Sumrall and Faulkner.
“Man, he was awesome,” Faulkner said of Dice Tuesday. “He's earned the right to play. He's gonna play some left tackle, some right tackle … His stock is definitely trending upwards – and we're glad because we need some more depth.”
Meanwhile, the Gator defense posted 13 quarterback hurries, three sacks and four hits on FAU QB Caden Veltkamp. Seven of those hurries came from three players on the defensive line: senior Brendan Bett, fifth-year Emmanuel Oyabadejo and sophomore Jayden Woods.
Bett, especially, stood out as one of Florida’s top defensive performers in Week 1, leading the team with three hurries and forcing a fumble that led to a turnover in the FAU red zone. While the overall performance of Florida’s defense was not up to the standards set by Sumrall and defensive coordinator Brad White, Bett’s effort stood out from the crowd, and his continued improvement is beginning to show dividends for the Gators.
“On a defense that is young in areas, there are some older guys that people lean into,” White said Tuesday. “He's that force. He's that guy that I can talk to. 'Hey, this is what we're trying to get done, can you sort of help me along?' So, I lean into him.”
Campbell has shown flashes of an effective unit in the trenches, especially on the defensive end. In the Camels’ 28-19 upset win over then-No. 24 Western Carolina Sunday, Campbell’s defense recorded seven tackles for loss and three sacks. Florida could find success against Campbell’s offensive line, however, as that unit has allowed six pressures in both of the Camels’ games this season.
Force Kamden Sixkiller to make mistakes
At the forefront of Campbell’s early improvement this season has been the improved play of senior quarterback Kamden Sixkiller.
After a solid 2025 season in which the Norman, Oklahoma, native completed 63% of his throws for 2,152 yards (195.8 per game), 12 touchdowns and five interceptions, Sixkiller has seen improvements in almost all aspects of his game.
Through two games, Sixkiller has completed just over 67% of his passes for 673 yards (336.5 yards per game), four touchdowns and three interceptions. He has also run the ball 19 times for 114 yards and three touchdowns, showing improved dual-threat abilities after only posting 224 yards and three touchdowns on 76 carries in 2025.
The numbers have been backed up by strong analytical play. Pro Football Focus has given Sixkiller an 84.4 offensive grade through two games, good for No. 4 among all FCS starting quarterbacks. In 2025, Sixkiller had a solid 73.3 grade, which placed him No. 49 among FCS QBs.
“They're averaging over 500 yards a game right now,” Sumrall said Monday. “Their quarterback is playing at a really high level. They got really quality football players and it's a challenge. It really is.”
The Owls saw success against the Gators in terms of total yardage, posting 396 total yards on 95 offensive plays. While on a per-play basis, the numbers aren’t as concerning, Sumrall and White stressed the importance of that overall number going down as the Gators prepare to enter Southeastern Conference play.
Where Florida did see defensive success against FAU was forcing turnovers. Alongside the aforementioned Bett forced fumble, senior safety DJ Coleman recorded an interception and a pass deflection that led to another pick by senior cornerback Dijon Johnson.
“You see DJ Coleman's pick … He knew it, he saw it, he jumped it. Boom,” White said. “[Dijon] did a nice job on the tip. So there were good things”
Winning the turnover battle would be another major positive for the Gators and could help drive UF to another blowout victory.
Kickoff is set for 5:30 p.m. ET Saturday at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
Contact Max Bernstein at mbernstein@alligator.org. Follow him on X at @maxbernstein23.
Max Bernstein is a fourth-year sports and media journalism major and sports management minor. This Fall, he is a Sports Editor and a Florida Gators and Jacksonville Jaguars reporter at The Alligator. Now in his ninth semester with The Alligator, Max previously served in roles including Digital Managing Editor, Sports Editor, Assistant Sports Editor and Football Reporter. He has also made appearances on the Paul Finebaum Show. In the rare moments Max isn't working, he's usually with his girlfriend Reese, watching sports with his fraternity brothers or missing his family and his two cats.
