Florida’s FCS Dominance: Gators Out to Smoke Camels
The Florida Gators ran up the score and shut down opposing offenses in their last 10 games against Football Championship Subdivision teams. The Gators look to continue that streak when they play the Campbell Fighting Camels at 5:30 p.m. Saturday on Florida Field.
After a strong offensive showing against Florida Atlantic in Week 1, the Gators (1-0) are primed to dominate offensively. Although no team should be considered a pushover, data suggests the Gators should not face many issues Saturday (Coverage: 2:30 p.m. WRUF 98.1-FM/850-AM /103.7-FM HD 2 and SEC Network+ at 5:30 p.m.).
The Gators averaged more than 52 points per game against their last 10 FCS opponents. Their highest scoring games came against Samford in 2021 and Idaho in 2018. The Gators put up 70 and 63 points in the two games, respectively.
With a large lead in most games, the Gators tended to stay on the ground. Out of their last 10 FCS matchups, the Gators had more carries than pass attempts in nine of the games, and they averaged almost 37 carries a game.
The Gators’ rushing attack was efficient as well, averaging 5.75 yards per carry and almost three touchdowns a game. Their greatest rushing game came against McNeese State in 2023 when the Gators ran for 327 yards and six touchdowns.
The efficiency carried over to the passing game. They completed 75% of passes and threw only one interception. This was accomplished at every level of quarterback in the depth chart. In nine games, at least two quarterbacks completed a pass for the Gators, and in two of the games, three quarterbacks completed a pass.
Most recently, Graham Mertz, Max Brown and Micah Leon all completed a pass against McNeese State in 2023.
The Gators will also have an opportunity to improve a defense coach Jon Sumrall described as “atrocious at times” after the 66-21 win against Florida Atlantic.
In most of their 10 FCS matchups, the Gators shut down the opponent. They completed shutouts against Towson and UT Martin in 2019 and Long Island University in 2025, and in seven games, the Gators held opponents to under 10 points.
Also, the Gators gave up more than two touchdowns in only one game, allowing 52 points against Samford in 2021.
The Gators won the turnover battle as well. They forced 12 turnovers and only turned the ball over four times.
Over the Gators’ history, they have only lost one game to an FCS opponent, 26-20 to Georgia Southern in 2013, when the Gators gave up 429 yards rushing and four touchdowns. Georgia Southern only attempted three passes without a completion for the game.
The Gators also struggled to get anything going on the ground in that matchup as they averaged 4.2 yards per carry and failed to punch in a rushing touchdown.
Campbell hopes to be the second team to pull off a cross-subdivision upset against the Gators. However, Campbell does not appear to be an exceptionally talented FCS program. The Fighting Camels’ last winning season came in 2019. But, they did start this season 2-0 for the first time since 2018, and as college football fans know, anything is possible.
Category: College Football, Feature Sports News, Football, Gators Football, NCAA
