GAINESVILLE, FL (352today.com) – The Jon Sumrall era at Florida continued its hot start in a second straight 40-plus point triumph to start the 2026 season, doing so in front of the program’s 20th straight sellout crowd Saturday. For Sumrall, the Gators prevailing in another dominant effort was satisfactory.
“The goal this week, just like every week, is to be 1-0 at the end of Saturday,” Sumrall said. “We’re 1-0 this week, which I’m pleased with.”
Sophomore wide receiver Vernell Brown III led the way for the Gators’ (2-0) 52-3 win over Campbell (2-1), putting in a record-breaking effort in the win. Brown’s 173 return yards were the most in program history, breaking Brandon James’ record of 155 in November 2007 against Western Carolina. The legacy Gator totaled 216 all purpose yards and three touchdowns in the victory, easily clearing his previous career, single-game high of 124 all purpose yards.
“It’s just a blessing to take advantage of those opportunities,” Brown said. “Obviously, I hadn’t scored in a year. To come in a new year, reset, refocus, do you. I’m going out there, doing me. The opportunities are presenting themselves.”
Campbell entered The Swamp’s raucous nature, far away from Barker-Lane Stadium’s 5,500-fan environment in Buies Creek, North Carolina. The 88,863 loud-and-proud crowd did not rattle the Camels, however, as they charged straight into Florida’s half of the field with a seven-play, 63-yard drive that ended in a field goal. The first points of the day for either side came from Camels quarterback Kamden Sixkiller connecting with receiver Stevie Keener twice for 57 yards, as the duo were efficient to open the game.
The Gators clapped right back on their first drive after tight end Lacota Dippre returned a shanked kickoff up to Florida’s 44-yard line. It did not take long for the Gators to answer, as running back Jadan Baugh converted on a fourth-and-one to keep the possession alive, ending in a 3-yard rushing touchdown for quarterback Aaron Philo. The score was Philo’s second rushing touchdown of the season, giving the Gators a 7-3 lead early in the first quarter.
Florida quickly went back to work on the offensive end, following its first stop of the game midway through the first frame. UF found multiple big plays on the drive, including a Philo-to-Brown connection for 24 yards on the sophomore receiver’s first catch of the day. The series stalled for UF, though, only ending in three after a Campbell stop inside the red zone, extending the lead to seven for Florida.
That was the last moment of normalcy before the Gators blasted off. Florida cut Campbell’s next three drives short, giving way for Brown to make magic happen. Camels senior punter Brandon Bowman booted the football off into the sky, allowing Brown the opportunity to return the punt 64 yards to the end zone for a touchdown to start the second quarter.
“As a ball carrier, I think a lot of stuff is just natural,” Brown said. “I don’t really think about making moves or I’m about to make this move. It’s more reactive than anything.
“I mean, obviously I scored the touchdown, but just credit to my blockers, man. That was amazing.”
The score ended a lengthy streak without six points of the variety for Florida, which last added a punt return touchdown from receiver Kadarius Toney against Kentucky in November 2020.
Brown decided one return touchdown was not enough, setting up to receive another punt from Florida’s own 30-yard line. The Gainesville native did the unthinkable, juking defenders and cutting across the field for a 70-yard return touchdown more than three minutes later. The long sprint was his second return touchdown of the game, making it 24-3 in Florida’s favor with 11:13 left to play in the second quarter.
Brown’s pair of scores marked the first time since Jacquez Green in 1996 that a Gator returned two punts for touchdowns in the same game.
“To be able to be in the record book and have something to look back on and say, ‘Yeah, I did that,’ have your name cemented in the record books, it’s amazing,” said Brown, who carries a three-generation Gator legacy — one that he now can admire among Florida’s highest marks in program history. “To continue the legacy while setting a new standard, hopefully for the ones that come behind me, is a blessing.”
The scoring did not stop there for the Gators, who tacked on a pair of passing touchdowns from Philo. The first came just one minute and 57 seconds of game time after Brown scored, with Philo connecting to receiver Dallas Wilson for a 40-yard touchdown strike. Florida added another after Philo found Brown for the hat-trick of touchdowns on a 14-yard pass to make the score 38-3.
Philo exited the contest midway near the end of the third quarter after yet another consistent performance, completing 16 of 21 passes for 242 yards and two touchdowns. He also earned his second-straight game with a rushing touchdown, running three times for 13 yards.
Just before halftime, Florida added one more, as Baugh reached the end zone on a 2-yard run up the middle to go into the break up 45-3. Between the two first halves for Florida under Sumrall, the Gators have combined for 83 points.
Through Florida’s first three halves of football in the Sumrall era, the Gators scored on 18 of 19 possessions. Regardless, the 31st head coach in program history felt as if the accolade was not as important as it seems.
“I think we found a way to finish a lot of drives, maybe in spite of ourselves at times,” Sumrall said. “We have a lot to clean up or those numbers are going to go the other way real fast.”
The defensive front also burned bright through the first 30 minutes, forcing seven scoreless drives from Campbell following the Camels’ field goal to open the game.
UF started the third quarter sluggish, punting the ball for the first time all season and turning the ball over on downs after an unsuccessful fake punt attempt. Sumrall was unhappy, to say the least, with Florida’s efforts out of halftime, focusing on the third quarter as a wake-up call.
“If we play like we did in the second half, we’re about to have a real rude awakening,” Sumrall said. “We have got a lot of improvement to do.”
Despite the two marches coming up empty, the Gators returned to their scoring ways shortly after.
Just two plays into Florida’s third drive of the second half, Jadan Baugh did Jadan Baugh things. The junior back broke free, taking a 75-yard run all the way to the house for his 20th career rushing touchdown to reach the 52-3 final. Baugh left the game with 136 yards and two touchdowns on 13 rushes, earning his third-consecutive game with 100 yards or more dating back to last season.
Baugh became the seventh running back in Florida history to run for 100 yards in three straight games, as well as the first to do so since Kelvin Taylor achieved it in 2015. The Atlanta native now ranks 16th all-time in rushing yards for Florida, sitting on 2,139 yards via the ground game in his three-year career.
Florida eased off the gas pedal in the fourth quarter after a punt and a Tramell Jones Jr. interception. Campbell appeared as though it would capitalize off Florida’s missteps before fumbling on the Gators’ 1-yard line. Cornerback Drake Stubbs forced the fumble, which was recovered by Florida linebacker Myles Johnson to seal the 49 point thrashing by UF.
Following the Campbell field goal to begin the game, Florida’s defense held the Camels mute on the remaining 12 drives. Amid the barren results for CU, the Gators forced two fumbles and six three-and-outs, adding two sacks and eight tackles-for-loss in the process.
One of the noticeable improvements from last week’s 66-21 rout of FAU is in yards allowed, after giving up nearly 400 total yards to the Owls. Week 2 proved to be a success on that front, with Florida only allowing 210 total yards to Campbell. The Gators stuffed the Camels in the running game, as CU only tallied 62 rushing yards on 25 attempts, good for 2.5 average yards per carry.
Despite the strong showing again in Week 2 for the Gators, a sense of disappointment was held by some of UF’s leaders. Junior defensive lineman LJ McCray, who earned his first sack in his Florida career in the win, feels there is still a sizable way to go for the defensive unit.
“We can improve in almost every area,” McCray said. “There’s mistakes all over the field that need to be corrected that won’t fly against better opponents.”
Dallas Wilson headed the receiving output with five catches for 104 yards and one touchdown. The production was the second 100-plus receiving yard game for Florida of the season after only two total throughout the entirety of 2025.
Myles Graham highlighted the dominant defense, leading the group in tackles for the second-straight game of 2026 with seven tackles and a forced fumble.
Although Florida won in resounding fashion for the second time running in 2026, the start to the season does not suffice for Sumrall. The first-year head man believes the team that picked apart Campbell may not be ready for what is on the horizon.
“I’m a little uneasy with where we are,” Sumrall said. “If we are not really urgent and detailed in our preparation, the outcome next Saturday will not be what we desire.”
The Gators will have time for such detailed preparation before UF travels for its first road tilt of 2026. SEC play kicks off next week for Florida at Auburn, making the first trip to the Tigers since a 17-6 loss in 2011. Kickoff is Sept. 19 at 7 p.m. from Jordan-Hare Stadium.
“While I’m really happy to be 1-0 this week, I’m not real pleased with just maybe where we are from a maturity standpoint, executing at a really high level all the time,” Sumrall said. “What we’re about to walk into in conference play, we will get absolutely embarrassed if we don’t improve a ton.
“A lot to be excited about, but a lot to work on.”
This story was originally published at WRUF.com and is reprinted by express permission.