The Swamp Heeds Jon Sumrall’s Call in Florida’s Win vs. Ole Miss

The Swamp roars started long before the first snap.

For its 21st consecutive sold-out game, 90,683 people packed Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Orange and blue filled the stands, and Ole Miss had nowhere to hide with its Heisman candidate Trinidad Chambliss facing the Gators’ own, Jadan Baugh, in the home of Jon Sumrall’s “sleeping giant.”

Despite Vegas’ favor and the newly-sodded home-field advantage, Sumrall challenged the Florida faithful to show up in droves Monday, two days after Ole Miss beat LSU and Lane Kiffin, its former coach and one the Gators considered last offseason to replace James Madison coach Billy Napier.

“I fully expect our fanbase to be ready to go,” Sumrall said Monday before Saturday’s 52-28 win and Florida’s first 4-0 start since 2019. “And create as much havoc as they can.”

Mission accomplished.

The crowd simply wasn’t waiting for Saturday’s football game all week, it showed up as early as 5:40 a.m. to tailgate and stayed until traffic slowed postgame, celebrating a long-awaited meaningful win on one of Gainesville’s first manageable temperatures of the fall season. During the game, the Gators crowd lived and sighed with every whistle, every flag, every hit and everything in between.

Florida’s eight penalties for 92 yards provided plenty of critique, including a delay-of-game penalty and a holding call that erased Vernell Brown III’s 68-yard touchdown run. But when an Ole Miss penalty moved the Rebels backward, a “move back, you suck!” fired back.

The energy built early as Florida took an early lead when Jadan Baugh rushed for a 4-yard score in the first quarter and a 2-yard touchdown dive in the second quarter in a 17-3 start. Thousands of fans jumped, others high-fived, and cheers, music and fireworks competed for space. 

“Momentum is a huge thing, especially at home,” Gators edge rusher Jayden Woods said. “If you can get the crowd into the game, it helps a ton.”

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No matter the score, the crowd made the environment uncomfortable from the moment Ole Miss arrived on buses, and quieter second-half moments and commercial breaks carried tension, too. When Florida’s offense stalled, in part to penalties, it stayed encouraged until the defense forced a fourth-down stop, DJ Coleman crushed Samari Reed to force an incompletion and later intercepted Chambliss to seal the game in the fourth quarter.

Ole Miss and the offense found the end zone after halftime, but no answer for Florida offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner’s attack. Duke Clark broke loose for a 45-yard touchdown run on a four-play drive after Rebels scored in five plays for a 24-14 lead with 11:32 left in the third quarter. 

By the fourth quarter, the atmosphere changed again. The nervousness that came with a close game had given way to confidence as Florida began to pull away on Dallas Wilson’s extension across the goal line on a 6-yard jet sweep.

After trading two more touchdowns in the third quarter, and a 31-21 Gators lead, came one of the most recognizable sounds in Gainesville.

With the stadium still packed to the brim, unlike the first two games that saw fans leave early, fans joined together as Tom Petty’s voice sang “Won’t Back Down” over the stadium speakers with cell phone flashlights turned to its brightest settings. For a few minutes, the top-25 matchup seemed secondary to the game itself while an injured Brown danced with Gators mascots Albert and Alberta.

Even after the final whistle, fans remained to sing “Florida, Our Alma Mater” and soak in the moment. No storming the field. Just walking out with a top-five opponent since 2018 and its first 4-0 start since 2019.

“We’ve had some tough times lately,” Florida fan Tim Bergstresser said. “When you’re on the top of the mountaintop, being down in the valley is tough, and we’ve been down there way too long. So it’s nice to be back.”

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