Florida is fresh off a thrilling road win over Auburn on Saturday, but Jon Sumrall won’t let his team get too high.
“I'm not thinking about that game ever again,” Sumrall said. “I'm great with everybody feeling good yesterday until about dinner, and then at dinner yesterday, if anybody walked around the building feeling good about what happened last week, it's gonna be bad for them, because it's over, it's gone forever.”
That short memory is needed, in part, because of the elite crew heading to The Swamp in Week 4.
No. 4 Ole Miss is one of the premier teams in the league this season following a run to last year’s College Football Playoff Semifinals, and it has returned many of the key pieces that spearheaded the success — including veteran star quarterback Trinidad Chambliss.
With an explosive offense heading to Gainesville, the margin for error is even smaller, and the Gators will have to clean up the small mistakes that have hindered their efficiency through the first three weeks.
“Last week's performance will not cut it against the outfit we're getting ready to play,” Sumrall said. “Well coached, talented, huge challenge … Our guys got to get ready to play a lot better football.”
Playing better football starts with being detailed and cleaning up penalties — Florida tallied 16 penalties for 138 yards in its 44-39 win over Auburn.
To address penalties and discipline, Sumrall took time Monday to review the plays during the team meeting. Though he disagreed with the legitimacy of Cormani McClain’s unnecessary roughness penalty for a late hit on Byrum Brown, there were a handful of penalties Sumrall wasn’t pleased with.
Most notably, UF’s taunting penalty, unsportsmanlike conduct penalty and blocking-out-of-bounds penalty are “the three that we can’t do ever,” Sumrall said.
“There’s certain ones I showed in front of the team that we were at fault,” Sumrall said. “We were in the wrong, and in the team meeting this morning, they got called out, and there ain’t no hiding.”
Despite some of the blips, the win at Jordan-Hare Stadium put Florida back in the AP Top 25 poll since it dropped out of the 2025 Week 3 rankings.
However, Sumrall won't let that impact his team’s mentality any more than the win against Auburn.
“I did talk to our team about [how] rankings in Week 4 mean nothing,” Sumrall said. “Nobody cares. And the same pats on the back you’re getting, if you go out and lay an egg, you’re gonna get the same hands hitting you in the back.”
If the Gators are too focused on the past, an Ole Miss team headlined by Chambliss — who Sumrall called as good a college football player as he’s ever seen with his own two eyes — will run Florida out of The Swamp. Staying grounded and focusing on going 1-0 for a fourth consecutive week is the key to success against a humming Rebels offense.
Sophomore JACK Jayden Woods said playing against a physical, mobile quarterback in Byrum Brown was a great way to prepare for Ole Miss. With Chambliss’ ability to extend plays with his legs, Florida got the chance to see game action against a run-heavy quarterback before its toughest test of the season thus far.
With the first SEC test in the books, Sumrall is adamant the Gators need to remain dialed in on the task at hand, remaining disciplined, attentive to detail and ready to play with urgency and physicality on Saturday.
“The types of teams that win are tough,” Sumrall said. “They’re urgent. They’re disciplined. They’re detailed. The types of teams that don’t, they’re complacent. They’re soft. They lack urgency.”
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.
