Florida Ready for Next Road Challenge After Recent Struggles at Missouri

GAINESVILLE, Fla. —The Florida Gators have never been able to fully figure out playing at Missouri.

Despite it only being his first season with the program, and despite Florida holding a No. 8 ranking to Missouri's No. 25 ranking, head coach Jon Sumrall Saturday's matchup will not be an easy one.

“If we think it’s gonna be a freaking cake walk, I don’t care if it's homecoming or whatever, we’re in for a rude awakening,” he said on Monday. “We’ve got to get ready to play a really good football team on the road in a place that’s not gone well for us a lot, recently, the most recent history.”

Since Missouri joined the SEC in 2012, Florida has played at Faurot Field six times but has lost four of them, including two by at least three scores. Florida’s last two losses in Columbia have been a one-point loss in overtime in 2021 and a two-point loss in the final seconds in 2023.

That loss in 2023, a 33-31 defeat in which Florida's defense gave up a fourth-and-17 on their final drive and the fourth of five straight losses to knock the Gators out of bowl eligibility, still stings for those still on the team.

“There’s a picture of Tyreak Sapp sitting on the ground,” offensive lineman Bryce Lovett said. “(Sumrall) had that up in the team room today, and I'm pretty sure it's all over the locker room, or it's by my locker.”

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Florida’s two wins have also not been easy, with Florida’s offenses in 2015 and 2019 failing to score more than 23 points in sluggish defensive battles. Missouri has also had tremendous success at home, going 34-8 this decade and only one loss since the 2023 season.

“It’s just a hard place to play," said defensive coordinator Brad White, who coached against the Tigers as Kentucky's defensive coordinator. "I think maybe some of those stadiums don't get enough credit for... That place, they get behind their team. And Coach (Eli) Drinkwitz does a great job getting those guys ready. Their record at home's got - I don't know what it is - but it's got to be pretty darn good."

However, Florida enters this year’s matchup with plenty of momentum and plenty of opportunities to solidify its current standing as a top-10 team.

The Gators' offense, led by Heisman-contending running back Jadan Baugh, is second in the SEC (fifth nationally) with 532.8 yards per game and is second nationally with 53.5 points per game. Defensively, Florida has much to clean up, but holding Ole Miss to three scoreless drives in its last four weeks is a positive to build off of. The Gators also have the benefit of back-to-back signature wins with a road win at Auburn two weeks ago and last week's 24-point drubbing of the Rebels.

Missouri, meanwhile, is looking to bounce back after a loss to Mississippi State.

While Florida is confident due to its successful start to the season, none of the recent weeks matter if the Gators want to avoid its historical struggles in Columbia.

"There's a lot of great morale, whatever, but here's the deal, and I told the team this morning, you have to humble yourself or you will be humbled," Sumrall said. "Like, if we don't look in the mirror and hone where we're deficient still, somebody else will show it to us.

"I'm very happy that we won last week. I'm happy that we won each week so far. It beats the alternative. But I'm not, like, celebrating anything. Nobody in our building should be celebrating anything."

Kickoff on Saturday is at 3:30 p.m. EDT, with television coverage on ABC. A win would give the Gators its first 5-0 start since 2019 and its first season with a road win over a ranked opponent since 2018.

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