Following a 52-3 bashing of FCS opponent the Campbell Fighting Camels on Saturday evening in The Swamp, Florida football is 2-0 for the first time since 2021.
Behind another explosive offensive performance to kick off the Jon Sumrall era, the Gators coasted to a 40-plus-point victory for the second straight week.
Here are five takeaways from Florida’s convincing win over Campbell.
Vernell Brown III is elite
Vernell Brown III has been a consistent force for the Gators ever since he arrived in Gainesville. However, Saturday marked a career night for the sophomore as he etched his name in Florida program history.
In the first half alone, he logged a program-record 219 return yards, posting two punt return touchdowns — a 64-yarder and a 70-yarder — on five attempts. He became the first Gator since Jacquez Green on Sept. 28, 1996, to have two punt return touchdowns in one game.
“Anytime you score in special teams, the percentage of you winning the game goes way up. When you score twice, you almost have to screw it up to lose,” Sumrall said. “So that was fun to see VB make those plays and create that momentum for us.”
His impact didn’t stop in the return game, though. He added a receiving touchdown on a 14-yard pass from Philo to put Florida up 38-3. He finished with 43 yards and a touchdown on three receptions to go along with his impact on the ground.
Aaron Philo looks like the sure QB1
Despite seemingly just edging out Tramell Jones Jr. for the starting quarterback role less than two weeks before the season opener, Aaron Philo has looked like the sure QB1 for the Gators.
Playing mainly just the first half against Campbell, he finished the half 14-of-17 passing for 222 yards and two passing touchdowns. He also added Florida’s opening touchdown, a 3-yard rush up the middle.
In his short bit of action in the back half of the contest, he went 2 of 4 for 20 yards before backup Jones took over.
He’s looked confident, likely boosted by his familiarity with offensive coordinator Buster Faulker’s system, and it’s been an offensive masterclass from the Gators with Philo in the pocket.
Florida’s defense smoothed things out
After Sumrall criticized Florida’s defensive performance against Florida Atlantic, it got off to a tough start against the Camels.
In Campbell’s opening 7-play, 63-yard drive, it breezed into field goal range, clocking a 24-yard gain on its opening play. However, Brad White’s crew quickly righted the ship, holding the Camels scoreless through the rest of the contest.
Florida’s defense allowed just 210 yards of total offense — including 62 on the ground.
“The defense did a better job once we settled into the rhythm of the game,” Sumrall said. “I thought our guys settled in and played with more confidence at times in the back end.”
Notably, Jayden Woods and Myles Graham stood out. Graham was coming off his career-high, 10-tackle performance against FAU, and he found similar success in Week 2. They each logged five total tackles in the first half alone, with Graham adding a tackle for loss and Woods recording 0.5 sacks. Graham added two tackles in the back half of the contest before heading to the sideline.
Jeramiah McCloud also had a standout night. He added four tackles, 0.5 sack and a pass breakup in the first half.
Defensive lineman DK Kalu also forced a fumble in the second quarter, which was recovered by inside linebacker Aaron Chiles. The effort led to a 40-yard touchdown for Dallas Wilson that put Florida up 31-3 with 9:06 to go in the half.
Tight ends are putting in the work
Amir Jackson is putting in some of the most work on the offense; it’s just work not coming up on the stat sheet. Jackson was one player Sumrall noted after FAU as needing more time on the field, and the same was true Saturday.
The junior has been elite in the blocking game, opening up lanes for Brown in back-to-back plays in the back half of the second quarter, among countless other efforts.
Luke Harpring also flashed at times on Saturday. In the second half, quarterback Aaron Philo found him up the middle for 22 yards, giving the Gators the first down. Harpring finished with three receptions for 33 yards.
Bailey Stockton deserves a bigger role
Florida’s wide receiver corps, headlined by Brown and Wilson, is stacked. However, Georgia Tech transfer Bailey Stockton has been getting a little too buried among the elite group.
His connection with quarterback Aaron Philo dates back to high school, and it has shown on the field in Florida’s opening contests. Against FAU, he grabbed all three of his targets for 20 yards and a touchdown.
He remained just as reliable with the Camels in town, grabbing both his first-half targets for 35 yards. He finished the game catching all four of his targets for 41 yards.
Stockton also had his hand in blocking throughout the game. His block on a punt return with two minutes to go in the second quarter gave Brown the go-ahead to pick up a few more yards.
"Credit to my blockers, that was amazing, especially Bailey Stockton at the end," Brown said. "I'm so grateful for those guys and appreciate them blocking for me."
The Gators face their first road test of the season next against SEC foe Auburn on Saturday at Jordan-Hare Stadium at 7 p.m. ET.
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).
