Kirk Herbstreit Names SEC Powerhouse a Legitimate Contender After Week 4 Win

ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit believes the Florida Gators have grown into one of college football's best stories under first-year coach Jon Sumrall, but he says the Gators must beat Texas or Georgia to earn title contender status.

Herbstreit made the case on Nonstop, his podcast with fellow ESPN analyst Joey Galloway, after then-No. 4 Ole Miss fell 52-28 at No. 21 Florida on Saturday. "I think they've become more than just a cute story," Herbstreit said.

Why does Florida's Missouri trip matter?

Kirk Herbstreit Names SEC Powerhouse a Legitimate Contender After Week 4 Win — Florida Gators quarterback Aaron Philo (12) celebrates while going to the locker room after a game against the Mississippi Rebels | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Herbstreit's test for Florida starts with games the Gators are expected to win.

"Can Florida sustain this? They've become, I think, one of the great stories in what was expected of them with a new coach and what they're doing," Herbstreit said. "It's one thing to get up for Ole Miss or get excited about Georgia. ... The great teams take care of going to Missouri and winning that game."

No. 8 Florida visits No. 25 Missouri at 3:30 p.m. ET Saturday on ABC, and both hosts picked the Gators.

Still, Missouri won the last two meetings in Columbia, and Sumrall is managing injuries to wide receivers Bailey Stockton, Vernell Brown III and Eric Singleton Jr.

Jadan Baugh leads Florida's scoring surge

Herbstreit guessed Florida scores "probably around 50 a game." The Gators are averaging 53.5 points after scoring 66, 52, 44 and 52 in their four wins.

Junior running back Jadan Baugh leads that offense with 600 rushing yards and a nation-best 11 rushing touchdowns. He's the fastest Gator to reach 10 rushing touchdowns in a season, beating the seven-game pace Tim Tebow set in 2007.

Florida went 4-8 in 2025. Now the Gators are 4-0 for the first time since 2019, and they cracked the top 10 of The Associated Press Top 25 for the first time in five years.

Can Florida beat Texas or Georgia?

After Missouri, Florida hosts South Carolina on Oct. 10. Then it plays at No. 1 Texas on Oct. 17 and faces No. 2 Georgia on Oct. 31 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

Renovations at EverBank Stadium moved the game out of Jacksonville, so it's the first Florida-Georgia matchup played in Atlanta in a series that dates to 1915.

Galloway asked Herbstreit whether Florida had to win all of those games to be legit, and Herbstreit said no. Galloway then asked if the Gators needed one win between Texas and Georgia.

"Yeah, you do," Herbstreit said. "If you're going where you want to go, you've got to be able to get one of those, for sure, to be evaluated as a team and to answer that question: Are they a national title or SEC championship contender? Yeah, you'd have to win one of those games."

Texas and Georgia are both 4-0, and Georgia has outscored opponents by an average of 41.5 points per game.

Add us as a preferred source on Google