Take Five: Ross’ Recap

108

Please Read: Welcome to the new-look Inside the Gators

• Recruit Reaction: Florida is going to surprise a lot of people this year
• Getting to Know: Davin Davidson
• Take Five: 2026 Florida Football Preview
• Florida Football Preseason Superlatives
• Former Florida Football Player Roundtable III
• Former Florida Football Player Roundtable II
• Former Florida Football Player Roundtable I

The Florida Gators played their first road and SEC game of the season and returned to Gainesville after securing a huge win over the Auburn Tigers. Florida is now ranked No. 21 in the AP Poll and is 3-0 for the first time since 2019. Let’s take a look at what went well, who played well, and what parts of Florida’s game need some fine-tuning.

Five Players Who Performed Well

Jadan Baugh, Running Back, Junior

• Another big day for Jadan Baugh. Are we surprised? No! Baugh ended Saturday with 162 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 26 attempts. He had two long runs of 33 and 53 yards, with the latter resulting in a touchdown that extended Florida’s lead to 41-24. Saturday marked the junior’s ​​fourth consecutive 100-yard game, which goes back to last season. Baugh still ranks number one in the SEC for total rushing yards this season (458). The runner-up is J.J. Hill (Mississippi State), and he trails far behind Baugh with only 118 yards. Baugh also kept his Heisman trophy pose going in the endzone, and his performance so far this season has put his name in the running.

Jayden Woods, JACK, Sophomore

• Jayden Woods was a major factor in Florida’s defensive success. He tallied up five solo tackles, two and a half sacks, and three and a half tackles for loss. The Pro Football Network ranked Woods as the highest-graded EDGE in Week 3 (99.3). He also ranks tenth in the SEC with four total tackles for loss, for 13 yards.

Duke Clark, Running Back, Sophomore

• As of week three, I remain pretty impressed by Duke Clark. He has grown immensely over the past year. In 2025, he only played in four games, rushing for 20 yards on six attempts. This season, he has played in all three games and multiplied his rushing yardage by six, with 133 yards on 20 carries. Week one, Clark was third on the Gators’ depth chart, but he quickly moved up, taking Evan Pryor’s place as the number two.

Dallas Wilson, Wide Receiver, Sophomore

• Wilson also had a pretty solid day, catching four passes for 74 yards. He also caught Florida’s only passing touchdown, a 20-yard pass. He would have had one more touchdown, but it was called back because of a holding penalty; I’ll get into my grievances with Florida’s penalties later. Right now, Wilson still ranks tenth in the SEC for total receiving yards (225), but is barely behind Keshaun Singleton (Auburn) at 230 and Ryan Coleman-Williams (Alabama), who has 235. I am expecting Wilson to move up in the SEC rankings soon.

Emmanuel Oyebadejo, Defensive Lineman

• Oyebadejo was a game-time decision after he suffered an ankle injury. Well, it turned out to be the perfect decision to give him some game action. The defensive lineman had two and a half sacks, two solo tackles, and two and a half tackles for loss. He also got a hit on Auburn’s Quarterback, Byrum Brown, and accounted for one of Florida’s three pass breakups. Jon Sumrall said that Oyebadejo never fully practiced last week, so the fact that he was able to go out there on Saturday and put up the performance that he did is impressive. I am excited to see how Oyebadejo looks once he gets back into the swing of things.

Five Players Who Need Fine-Tuning

Caden Jones, Offensive Lineman, Senior

• Caden Jones had two penalties against Auburn. Both occurred in the second quarter: the first was a 15-yard personal foul, and the second was a false start. I need to see more consistency and discipline from Jones. He did not really make any big plays against Auburn, but he cost the Gators 20 yards from his penalties. It might be harsh, but with 16 total flags against Florida on Saturday, really, anyone who contributed to that is in my black book and needs some refining.

Bailey Stockton, Wide Receiver, Senior

• Truthfully, Stockton just hasn’t balled out as much as people expected this season. On Saturday, he caught two passes for 12 yards, with one “long” catch for 6 yards. He also had one attempted carry, resulting in a loss of two yards. Behind Dallas Wilson and Vernell Brown III, I would expect him to step up more.

Harrison Moore, Offensive Lineman, Junior

• This might be controversial because Moore won the SEC Offensive Lineman of the week on Monday, but he was not perfect. He committed a false start early on in the first quarter, moving Auburn to the 13-yard line for a second down. And in the third quarter, he received a holding flag, putting the Tigers up 10 yards to the 50. There is still a lot of room for improvement, but at least Moore seems to have made some strides already after shaky blocking in week one. But being one of the leaders on the line of scrimmage, he needs to be a little more disciplined.

Ben Hanks III, Cornerback, Sophomore

• Hanks accounted for two of Florida’s four defensive penalties, and both were in the final quarter. His first was for holding, resulting in a 10-yard penalty. Later on in the quarter, with less than two minutes left, Hanks was penalized for being offside. The flag moved Auburn up five yards to the 27-yard line, leading to a passing touchdown later on in the drive. It has not been all bad from Hanks, as he has 11 tackles and one pass breakup this season, but he still needs some fine-tuning to maximize his potential.

LJ McCray, Defensive Lineman, Junior

• McCray did not necessarily have a bad day against Auburn, but he did not have a good one either. He only recorded one solo tackle off 18 total snaps, and that is really all he did. He has not had a super strong start to this season, recording only five total tackles, which is 19th-best on the team. McCray has racked up three sacks this season, but overall, I’m not super impressed with his outings. Hopefully, he gets more aggressive as the Gators move deeper into SEC play.

Five Things I Liked From Saturday

Pressure Around the Pocket

• Throughout the game, Florida pushed the pocket and was able to collapse Auburn’s interior. The Gators’ defense recorded seven sacks and forced two turnovers. Florida’s interior defense hasn’t been super solid, but it is getting stronger. It was good to see them show out and make some big defensive plays. Now, they need to stay consistent in this area, especially against Ole Miss and Trinidad Chambliss this upcoming weekend.

Pushing Past the Tigers’ Interior Defense

• The Tigers’ linebacker core is the best unit on their team, so before the game, I was concerned about how well Florida would run the ball. But Florida pushed through. The Gators rushed for a total of 243 yards on 53 attempts. Together, Duke Clark and Jadan Baugh found the endzone four times. The fact that Florida’s rushers produced nearly as much as their receivers (252 receiving yards) against Auburn’s strongest unit is a good sign.

Limiting Auburn’s Ground Game

• I said it in my preview, and I will say it again: the winner of Saturday’s game was going to be determined by who was able to run the ball more. And Florida blew Auburn out of the water. The Gators rushed for 243 yards, while the Tigers only went for 102. Being able to limit Auburn’s attack up the middle and force them to rely on their receivers was another huge factor in Florida’s success on Saturday, even though Auburn’s offense still produced a lot.

Offensive Dominance

• Florida generated 495 yards of total offense on Saturday. As I said above, the Gators finished with 252 passing yards and 243 rushing yards. They were also 3-for-3 on fourth down and 5-for-5 in the red zone. Everyone knows SEC play is tough, especially on the road. So, for Florida to put up these numbers in a game like Saturday’s is huge and a reminder that this offense cannot be overlooked. I also really enjoyed some of Buster Faulkner’s packages, especially the double-pass play from Aaron Philo to Kahleil Jackson, where the wide receiver threw to Amir Jackson for a 48-yard gain. The creativity from Faulkner’s calls and formations was great, and I’m excited to see what other tricks he has up his sleeve.

Sustaining Offensive Momentum

• After last weekend against Campbell, I was not overly impressed with how Florida played in the second half. However, against the Tigers, the Gators maintained their offensive stamina and explosiveness throughout all four quarters. The Gators scored 20 points in the first half and were able to keep the ball rolling with 24 points in the second. Florida almost seemed more fired up during the back half of the game, so I guess Jon Sumrall’s halftime speech did its job. No matter if Florida is leading or trailing at halftime (but especially when they are trailing), if they can continue to sustain their offensive momentum in the second half, they are going to find a lot of success this season.

Five Issues I Saw Saturday

Too Many Penalties Again

• Each week, the number of penalties called against the Gators continue to increase. On Saturday, they had 16 penalties for a loss of 138 yards. It is not a good look for the Gators, especially with 12 of the 16 penalties being against the offense. Despite the atrocious number of penalties, Florida walked away with a win. However, the Gators will not keep getting the same result if they keep this up for the rest of SEC play.

Not Enough Coverage Over the Top

• Florida’s secondaries did not have a super strong showing in the first two games, and unfortunately for Florida, it was not much different on Saturday. Auburn wide receivers Keshaun Singleton and Chas Nimrod both caught deep passes from Auburn quarterback Byrum Brown. Singleton caught a 48-yard pass, and Nimrod grabbed a 35-yard one that resulted in a touchdown. Florida cornerback Cormani McClain and safety D.J. Coleman only recorded one tackle each. Right now, this is definitely one of the “weaker” units on the team, so they will need to be more aggressive tackling downfield, or teams will continue to expose that weakness.

Byrum Brown Still Had a Day

• The Tigers got down the field too many times and too easily. Florida gave Auburn a lot of opportunities to make explosive plays, and the Tigers took them. Byrum Brown completed 15-20 passes for 271 yards and three touchdowns. Even with Florida’s pressure in the pocket and seven sacks, they still gave up 39 points to the Tigers.

Florida’s Interception

• In the third quarter, Jadan Baugh fumbled a pass from Philo that deflected right off him and into the air, resulting in an interception. The pick-off was De’Shawn Womack’s (Auburn defensive end) first of his career. The fumble was a very unnecessary gift to Auburn and was completely catchable by Baugh. Luckily, this was a one-off for the running back, and the rest of his offensive performance made up for it.

Second-Half Defensive Decline

• The Gators’ offense remained strong into the second half, but not their defense. In the final quarter, Florida gave up 90 yards, with 81 of those being rushing. They also allowed the Tigers to score two touchdowns and convert for an extra two points with a little over six minutes left in the game. For a defense that limited Auburn’s ground attack most of the game, they completely crumbled at the end, giving up 15 points in the fourth quarter. Not to mention, a touchdown in the third as well.

Go to discussion...