Aaron Philo, Jadan Baugh combine for 7 touchdowns as Florida downs FAU
By Ethan Stone
Published:
Aaron Philo and Jadan Baugh dominated the FAU Owls on Saturday night, leading the Florida Gators to a decisive Week 1 victory, 66-21.
While there were definitely some things that new head coach Jon Sumrall and Co. will have to clean up moving forward, it was a mostly positive first look at Sumrall’s Gators. Especially so on the offensive end.
Jadan Baugh was the player of the game for the Gators. The Owls had zero answers for the junior running back, who posted a hat trick with 3 touchdowns on 14 carries for 140 yards. Baugh averaged an incredible 11.4 yards per carry.
Baugh’s creativity is perhaps his best attribute as a running back. Here’s one of his best runs of the day, featuring a clean cut that sent an Owls defender out of his cleats:
Slippery, indeed.
You have to give Philo his flowers, too. He’s as comfortable as ever under OC Buster Faulkner, who he followed to Gainesville after 2 seasons at Georgia Tech. Philo completed 16 of his 21 passing attempts for 275 yards and 3 touchdowns with 1 interception. For good measure, Philo added a score with his legs.
That’s 7 combined touchdowns for Philo and Baugh, for those counting at home.
Finally, sophomore receiver Vernell Brown III deserves a shoutout for his contributions to Florida’s Week 1 win. VB3 scored the first touchdown of his Florida career, which also happened to be Florida’s first score of the 2026 season. For the day, he hauled in 6 receptions for 117 yards and the below score.
Brown is fast, folks.
Florida will be back in action next Saturday as the Gators host Campbell.
Ethan Stone is a Saturday Down South News Editor and an advocate for the return of the Seattle Supersonics.
