Florida, Auburn Seeking SEC Momentum
After seven years, 10 coaches and 69 total NFL draft picks, a rivalry dating to 1912 returns Saturday.
The Florida Gators (2-0) travel to Pat Dye Field at Jordan-Hare Stadium to face the Auburn Tigers (2-0) for the first time since 2019. Coverage for the SEC opener for both teams begins at 4 p.m. on 98.1-FM/850-AM/103.7 HD2 and 7 p.m. on ESPN.
Beyond the seven-year gap, Florida coach Jon Sumrall believes that when it comes to the Gators versus the Tigers, you’re either with him or against him, no matter the blood ties.
“Any family that is pulling against us, they ain’t my family,” Sumrall said Monday. “I mean, I don’t care what their last name is.”
Auburn has won three of the teams’ past five meetings, with their last one ending with the Gators winning 24-13 at The Swamp in 2019 against a Tigers team featuring Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix, who was a freshman at the time.
The game was loud and the energy was so intense that some Gator players had to stand on the bench just to see the field.
“I remember looking when Auburn had their first possession, and I was like, I’ve been going to Florida games my whole life, and I’ve never heard The Swamp this loud,” former Florida reserve quarterback Luke Matthews said.
Both teams had a lot to prove entering the 2019 game ranked in the top 15. The main differences this time are that both teams are unranked, have new coaches and are seeking their third consecutive win to build momentum for the rest of the league schedule.
“You can kind of feel that rivalry being reborn with that [2019] matchup; it was a great atmosphere,” former Florida athlete Kyle Engel said.
Auburn coach Alex Golesh also has recent history with Florida. He coached USF to an 18-16 win in Week 2 last season in Gainesville.
After leaving USF, Golesh brought over 13 transfers to Auburn, including starting quarterback Byrum Brown, who threw for 223 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for 88 yards in last week’s 43-8 win against Southern Miss. Brown led the way in the win against the Gators last year by passing for 263 yards and a touchdown, while rushing for 66 yards.
Sumrall had Golesh’s number in their last coaching head-to-head, beating Golesh’s Bulls 45-10 in 2024 while Sumrall was coaching Tulane.
Miami quarterback Darian Mensah started for Tulane while Brown started for USF, bringing the game full circle for Brown, Golesh, Sumrall and the Gators.
Sumrall hopes to conquer one of the most hostile places to play in the SEC: Jordan-Hare Stadium, the place former Alabama coach Nick Saban believed to be haunted.
The teams were traditional rivals. They met from 1945 to 2002 in an uninterrupted annual series before SEC expansion and scheduling adjustments turned it into an intermittent contest. Auburn leads the series 43-39-2, including 26-8-1 at home.
Saturday’s game marks Aaron Philo’s first true challenge as Florida’s starting quarterback. Sumrall plans to simulate Jordan-Hare to prepare his players for the noise.
“We’ll work crowd noise and practice all week,” Sumrall said. “No matter how much you try to pipe it in, I don’t know that it’s ever really as authentic of a simulator.”
Category: College Football, Feature Sports News, Football, Gators Football, SEC
