The Florida Gators football team defeated the Campbell Fighting Camels 52-3 on Saturday at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, but head coach Jon Sumrall focused on the penalties and execution issues that followed a dominant first half. Florida improved to 2-0 for the first time in five years while preparing for its upcoming Southeastern Conference opener at Auburn. The game was played Sept. 12, 2026, in Gainesville.
Florida led 45-3 at halftime after scoring 35 points in the second quarter. The Gators committed one penalty in the first half before being flagged seven times after halftime, preventing them from maintaining the same level of execution. Sumrall said the victory did not erase the concerns he saw late in the game.
“Happy for our guys to get a win,” Sumrall said. “A lot I was not pleased with, to be quite honest with you.”
Florida builds a 45-3 halftime lead
Vernell Brown III supplied three touchdowns for the Florida Gators football team. He returned punts 64 and 70 yards for touchdowns and caught a 14-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Aaron Philo.
Philo completed 16 of 21 passes for 242 yards and rushed for a 3-yard touchdown. Dallas Wilson caught five passes for 104 yards and scored on a 40-yard touchdown reception from Philo. Jadan Baugh added 136 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries, including a 2-yard run and a 75-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.
Baugh recorded his third consecutive 100-yard game. Florida also scored on all four of its red-zone trips while gaining 514 yards. The Gators limited the Campbell Fighting Camels to 210 yards.
Penalties define the second half
Florida’s mistakes began on its first drive after halftime. Offensive lineman TJ Shanahan Jr. was flagged for holding and unnecessary roughness on consecutive plays, while offensive lineman Roderick Kearney received a 15-yard unnecessary-roughness penalty on the next possession.
The Gators later attempted a fake punt on fourth-and-14 from their 46-yard line, but punter Alec Clark was stopped a yard short of the first down. Florida turned the ball over on downs, and the second half continued to feature penalties that interrupted its drives.
“The second half, every time you felt like we had an explosive play, there’s another penalty flag,” Sumrall said. “You can’t do that. The Gators can’t beat the Gators.”
Campbell scored its only points on Alex Crabb’s 29-yard field goal during the opening drive. Florida held the Fighting Camels scoreless after that possession, with defensive lineman LJ McCray recording a sack, two tackles for loss and a quarterback hurry.
McCray said Florida still has significant work to do before conference play. “There’s a lot of room for improvement,” McCray said. “We’re nowhere near where we need to be. We still need to keep building.”
Florida shifts focus to Auburn
Florida has scored 118 points and allowed 24 through two games under Sumrall. The source says those totals represent the most points scored and the widest margin in program history for a coach’s first two games.
Florida is scheduled to visit the Auburn Tigers at Jordan-Hare Stadium the following Saturday for its Southeastern Conference opener. Sumrall warned that the Gators cannot carry their second-half performance into conference play.
“We’re about to have a real rude awakening,” he warned. Sumrall also said, “I’m not real pleased with maybe where we are from a maturity standpoint, executing at a really high level all the time,” before adding, “What we’re about to walk into in conference play, we will get absolutely embarrassed if we don’t improve a ton.”
Sumrall said the second half gave some players an opportunity to show whether they were ready to meet Florida’s standard. “Some guys proved maybe in the second half, you get an opportunity to prove people right or wrong; some guys proved us right [about] why they’re not playing.”
He also emphasized that the standard applies to every player on the roster. “I expect every player on our team … to play to the standard that is a Florida Gator. I don’t care if you’re a first-, second- or third-team player; there is a standard here. It’s non-negotiable. I think maybe some guys learned tonight what readiness looks like isn’t quite where they are.”
Source: Original report