Paul Finebaum Says SEC Team Is 'Frighteningly Good' Playoff Contender After Dominant Win

ESPN analyst Paul Finebaum says Florida is a College Football Playoff team after the Gators beat No. 4 Ole Miss 52-28 in Gainesville on Saturday to start 4-0 under first-year head coach Jon Sumrall.

Finebaum made the case on SportsCenter on Sunday morning alongside ESPN reporter Heather Dinich. "I spent the weekend in Gainesville, and I think they are a playoff team," Finebaum said. "They are frighteningly good, if not great, and it's all because of Jon Sumrall."

Why does Finebaum credit Jon Sumrall?

Paul Finebaum Says SEC Team Is 'Frighteningly Good' Playoff Contender After Dominant Win — Florida head coach Jon Sumrall reacts to fans after Florida beat Ole Miss 52-28 | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Sumrall didn't want the praise. He told ESPN sideline reporter Katie George the win was about his players, and he told reporters after the game, "We have not arrived."

Finebaum still put the turnaround on the former Tulane coach. "He may not want the credit, but he should get it because he has transformed that place overnight," Finebaum said. "Last year under Billy Napier, they had some big wins, but they also had some inexplicable losses."

The longtime SEC voice then compared Sumrall to two former Florida coaches. "I closed my eyes yesterday and thought Urban Meyer or Steve Spurrier was roaming the sidelines," Finebaum said. "Maybe somebody even better. Not really, but maybe close. His name is Jon Sumrall."

SportsCenter host Gary Striewski noted Florida last scored 40 points in each of its first four games in 2001 under Spurrier. The Gators have 214 points this season, and Sumrall is the first coach in SEC history to score 200+ points in his first four games.

Jadan Baugh leads Florida's rushing attack

Finebaum also singled out the Gators' star running back. "Jadan Baugh and every part of this football team are screaming 'really good,' like the old-time Gators," Finebaum said.

Baugh scored three rushing touchdowns against the Rebels. Duke Clark added 126 rushing yards, including a 45-yard touchdown run in the third quarter, and Florida finished with six rushing touchdowns as a team.

The defense forced two turnovers from Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, including an interception at the Florida 5-yard line in the fourth quarter. It was Florida's first win over a top-five opponent since it beat Georgia in 2020.

Where do Florida's playoff chances stand?

Dinich has the Gators at No. 8 in her latest top-12 projection. She said the selection committee would weigh the win over Ole Miss and Florida's 44-39 road win at Auburn, which she noted is now 3-1.

"If the College Football Playoff selection committee were looking at this team today, it would certainly honor the head-to-head win against Ole Miss," Dinich said.

Dinich added that ESPN's Football Power Index projects Florida to lose only two games this season, to Texas and Georgia. "Even if the Gators do that and finish 10-2, they could be a College Football Playoff team in Sumrall's first season if they keep this up," she said.

Sumrall is trying to become the fifth coach to reach the College Football Playoff in his first season, and the first from the SEC to do so. Florida plays Missouri next.

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