Florida is riding a high after its Week 4 win over Ole Miss. But Jon Sumrall‘s message to his team has been to ignore the rankings while keeping their eyes solely on their next opponent.
In Week 5, the opponent will be Mizzou. The Tigers were outscored 14-0 in the fourth quarter of a 31-24 loss to Mississippi State, a game that Eli Drinkwitz mentioned was marred by execution errors.
CBS Sports Network’s “Inside College Football” analysts — Aaron Taylor, Brian Kelly, Brian Jones, and Rick Neuheisel predicted the outcome of Saturday’s game in Columbia. Kelly picked the Tigers to get the win.
“I’ve been so impressed with Florida and what they’ve been able to do. But this season, to me, feels like each week, a new team shows,” Kelly said. “I think Missouri is ready in this game at home and pulls off the upset against a Florida team that’s heavily favored.”
Jones, though, picked the Gators and a rushing attack led by Jadan Baugh despite a Tigers defense that is “stiffer” than Ole Miss.
“This team coming in with Duke Clark, Jadan Baugh, both went over 100 (yards) versus Ole Miss,” Jones said. “If this running game continues to do what it’s done and stays consistent, I don’t see any stopping them.”
Taylor noted that Florida is on a 13-game road losing streak against ranked opponents, but wondered if Mizzou should be ranked in the first place.
“(They) are only 1-9 against ranked teams (since 2024), so it’s a classic ‘they ain’t played or beat nobody,'” he said. “Florida is a legit team. Jon Sumrall is going to have them right. … I do believe it comes down to that run game, and they’re going to grind them to a pole.”
Neuheisel wrapped up the picks by going with Florida due to his uncertainty around Austin Simmons.
“I think he’s shown flashes of brilliance, but consistency, maybe not so much,” he said.
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
