Florida is going through a nightmare 2025 season, with an avalanche of losses on the field that cost head coach Billy Napier his job.
With Florida sitting at just 3-6 overall and 2-4 in the SEC, things won’t get any easier for the Gators in Week 12 when they head to Oxford to face an Ole Miss team that has its eyes on a College Football Playoff berth. The Rebels were ranked 7th in the last CFP rankings, and they are rolling this fall with a 9-1 record and a real shot to do something special in 2025.
For Florida, Saturday night’s matchup at Ole Miss (7 p.m. ET, ESPN) is a real shot to play spoiler, to help ruin the national championship dreams that Lane Kiffin‘s team has built up. It won’t be easy, with UF predictably being a double-digit underdog, but on Friday afternoon the Gators announced their 4 team captains for the game, who will try to help them navigate a very difficult situation and atmosphere in Oxford.
Florida’s 4 captains will be sophomore defensive lineman Michai Boireau, sophomore running back Jadan Baugh, senior wide receiver J. Michael Sturdivant and junior edge rusher Kamran James. UF football’s social media account celebrated the captain selections with this post on Friday afternoon:
Boireau has 15 total tackles this season, 5 of them solo, with 2 sacks and 1 interception. On the other side of the ball, Baugh is the Gators’ engine when it comes to the running game, leading UF in rushing this season with 747 yards and 5 touchdowns.
Sturdivant has 20 catches for 264 yards and 1 touchdown for Florida this year, while James has been a menace this fall for UF’s defense, piling up 32 tackles, 18 of them solo, with 3.5 sacks and 1 forced fumble.
The quartet of Gators will be tasked with leading Florida on the field and off it during Saturday night’s big-time challenge at Ole Miss.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
