With a riveting 52-28 victory over then-No. 4 Ole Miss that propelled Florida to its first 4-0 start since 2019, the Gators skyrocketed to No. 8 in the AP Top 25 Poll. But head coach Jon Sumrall and Co. are dead set on staying where their feet are and preparing the right way for a fifth consecutive week.
“I'm very happy that we won last week. I'm happy that we've won each week so far. It beats the alternative, but I'm not celebrating anything,” Sumrall said. “Nobody in our building should be celebrating anything.”
Sumrall made it clear rankings don’t matter, and Florida is focused on the road ahead, starting with Missouri. The Gators have won just one of their last four games in Missouri, and Sumrall is not taking that fact lightly.
“You have to humble yourself, or you will be humbled,” Sumrall said. “If we don’t look in the mirror and own where we’re deficient still, somebody else will show it to us.”
Staying down to Earth while keeping energy high will be key for the Gators to find success on the road in Columbia, Missouri.
Sumrall was adamant there’s still much work to be done and plenty of improvements to be made. Taking the season one day at a time will help Florida keep focus on Week 5, and staying hungry and relentless starts with a shared team mindset.
“I just think we have to keep a humble, hungry, gritty, blue-collar mindset,” Sumrall said. “Tough teams win. Selfless teams win. Teams that have an energy about them, hunger about them, they win. Complacent, soft, entitled, lazy, selfish teams, they lose.”
Sumrall doesn’t just preach that mentality, though, he lives it. His mindset seeps into the rest of the team, and he’s set the tone for the way Florida approaches each week.
His intensity has been apparent since Week 1, and it has since spread through the roster from top to bottom.
“When you’re the head coach, you set the pace,” Sumrall said. “I want our guys to play with excitement, passion, and if I’m like a bump on a log, then they’re going to be bumps on a log. I want them to have fun playing the game … it bleeds through your team if they know I’m excited.”
Another boost for Florida heading into the matchup with Missouri is its opportunity to play at full strength. Sumrall said Vernell Brown III, Bailey Stockton and Dijon Johnson could all play Saturday.
He said Brown is medically cleared, and whether he will be on the field in Missouri will depend on how he is feeling and his comfort level. After taking a tough hit against Ole Miss, Stockton will be limited through practice this week, but has no structural issues with his back, while Johnson is battling a mild ankle injury.
Sumrall also expects Eric Singleton Jr. to be a full-go Saturday.
The No. 8 Gators (4-0, 2-0 SEC) face No. 25 Missouri (3-1, 0-1 SEC) on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET as Florida looks to grab its second SEC win on the road.
Contact Curan Ahern at cahern@alligator.org. Follow him on X at @CuranAhern.
Contact Ava DiCecca at adicecca@alligator.org. Follow her on X at @avadicecca24.
Ava DiCecca is a senior sports and media journalism student and a Fall 2026 sports editor and football beat reporter. Now in her fifth semester with The Alligator, she previously served as the Summer 2026 assistant sports editor, Spring 2026 sports editor, Gators volleyball beat reporter and an enterprise writer. In her free time, she watches Boston sports (Brad Marchand we still love you).
Curan is a senior sports journalism student in his sixth semester at The Alligator. He is currently a sports editor and football beat reporter for the Gators and the Jaguars. He previously served as a men's tennis and sports enterprise reporter, and he is pursuing a public relations minor.
