Déjà Vu? Florida Faces an Alex Golesh Team Again in Auburn
The last time Florida blew out an FCS team, its season drastically derailed the following week. The man who led the charge in quickly lighting the Gators’ 2025 season up in flames was South Florida coach Alex Golesh. The old saying goes that history does not repeat itself, but it does rhyme.
Just over a year later, does the phrase ring true with Golesh looking for another win Saturday over Florida at the helm in Auburn now?
As the Gators travel out to Auburn for the first road meeting against the Tigers since 2011, most of the emphasis is on the importance of a win. Regardless of which team claims victory, the winning coach will notch their first career win heading an SEC team. However, Golesh already knows what it feels like to take down an SEC opponent, having downed the Gators last year in Gainesville.
While the loss still stays poignant in the mind of Florida fans as a reminder of Billy Napier’s tumultuous time at Florida, the attention has turned to look ahead rather than looking back. For that, you can look to new Florida coach Jon Sumrall as the main motivator.
“I don’t know that that game has anything to do with this game. It’s not like it’s the revenge game,” Sumrall said. “It’s Florida’s players playing against Auburn’s players. There’s no talk this week of any other teams than those two teams.”
Coming off a 55-0 thrashing of Long Island in Week 1 of last season, Florida welcomed USF into The Swamp for the first meeting between the teams since 2022. What happened on the field left the college football world stunned.
USF sealed one of its biggest upsets in program history by an 18-16 final on a game-winning field goal. While USF fans rejoiced, Florida fans were left scratching their heads wondering what went wrong.
Looking back to that 2025 contest, the Bulls capitalizing where the Gators fell short is what made the difference. Florida’s seven drives in the second half only yielded one score on a 4-yard slant touchdown to Eugene Wilson III, as USF’s defense halted UF drive after drive. The other overarching theme of the loss was penalties hampering the Gators, as a pair of touchdowns were called back due to two of Florida’s 11 penalties for 103 yards throughout the night.
One penalty among the slew that stands out came late in the fourth quarter, as defensive lineman Brendan Bett spat on USF offensive lineman Cole Skinner. The unsportsmanlike conduct pushed Bulls kicker Nico Gramatica 15 yards closer and possibly cost the Gators the win. Bett will line up against Skinner a year later, as the Gators take on an Auburn team that resembles USF from last year in spots.
Although the similarities between USF and Auburn are evident, Florida is looking past them. Players from last year’s squad still remember the loss to the Bulls, but they are grabbing the current matchup at hand by the horns, with a chance to right the record against Golesh.
While Florida’s offense fizzling out and an abundance of penalties may not reappear for the SEC opener, some aspects carry over from USF to Auburn. The most notable is Byrum Brown following Golesh to become a Tiger.
Brown was one of the nation’s best quarterbacks in 2025, becoming only the 12th player in FBS history to record 3,000 or more passing yards and 1,000 or more rushing yards in the same season. Brown’s ability to be a threat through the air or on the ground gave Florida problems last year and could do so again, adding an extra facet to what UF’s defense has to contain.
Another constant is a majority of the supporting cast surrounding Brown, with USF starters in center Cole Best and receiver Chas Nimrod joining the fray at Auburn. The Tigers also added other South Florida pieces like receiver Keshaun Singleton, who caught a 66-yard touchdown from Brown in USF’s win against Florida last year.
The idea behind bringing over double-digit transfers from a previous school is not out of the ordinary in today’s day and age of college football. What is extraordinary is the coach who brought the players with him from Tampa to the SEC.
Golesh, previously the offensive coordinator at Tennessee before coaching at USF, made his return to the SEC by accepting the Auburn job. Golesh’s offensive mindset at South Florida was all about keeping up the pace, as the Bulls averaged 21.4 seconds per play last year, ranking second in all of college football. That trend carries over to Auburn, who ranked 33rd at 24.7 seconds per play previously but has sped up that mark by nearly three seconds, ranking third in college football through two games in 2026.
What also makes the matchup intriguing is the history Golesh has with Sumrall. Before becoming SEC head coaches, the pair prepared as assistant SEC coaches and head coaches in the American Athletic Conference.
The correlations between Golesh and Sumrall persist, but a 45-10 victory for the latter in his time at Tulane over Golesh’s Bulls left a bad taste in the mouth. That means when each tries to make his mark with their first SEC win at their newest destination, all bets are off and friendships are put aside.
“I’ve got a ton of respect for Jon [Sumrall]. Did a high-end job at Tulane,” Golesh said. “He said we were friends? Not this week we’re not.”
Category: Feature Sports News, Gator Sports, Gators Football
