![Florida head coach Jon Sumrall reacts against Campbell during the first half of an NCAA football game at Steve Spurrier Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, FL on Saturday, September 12, 2026. [Alan Youngblood/Gainesville Sun]](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,x_0,y_0,w_3000,h_1687/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ReutersImages/mmsport/213/01m2khz3vzzzfm2mjzkd.jpg "Florida head coach Jon Sumrall reacts against Campbell during the first half of an NCAA football game at Steve Spurrier Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, FL on Saturday, September 12, 2026. [Alan Youngblood/Gainesville Sun]")
One of the major differences in how Jon Sumrall and Alex Golesh assembled their rosters at Florida and Auburn, respectively, was who they brought with them from their previous jobs. Sumrall brought his punter and his kicker from Tulane, and that was essentially it, player-wise. Golesh, meanwhile, brought 13 players with him from USF, nine of whom have taken significant snaps for Auburn through two games.
And while Sumrall said yesterday that this Saturday isn’t a revenge game for Florida, it is going to be a massive litmus test as to which coach’s vision of roster construction was ultimately the correct one.
Florida and Auburn took different approaches to roster contruction
Of the top 20 players who have received the most snaps for Auburn so far on the defensive side of the ball, rotational cornerback Gavin Jenkins is the only USF transfer in the group. Jenkins did not play in the game against Florida last year.
But on the offensive side of the ball, it is a different story. Among Auburn's top 20 players by total snaps on offense through two games, eight are guys who followed Golesh from Tampa.
In fact, as a whole, just six of the top 20 offensive snap getters for Auburn played in a Power Four conference in 2025. By comparison, 19 of Florida’s top 20 offensive snap getters were from a Power Four conference in 2025.
And it is notable that Golesh brought over so many guys from USF, and from other G6 programs, because it’s not like those guys had much success against Power Four defenses while at USF. Is putting on an Auburn helmet a magic potion?
Auburn better hope so, because Alex Golesh has topped 20 points against a Power Four just once in seven attempts as a head coach since 2023:
- 2023 vs Alabama - 3 points
- 2023 vs Syracuse - 45 points
- 2024 vs Alabama - 16 points
- 2024 vs Miami - 15 points
- 2025 vs Florida - 16 points
- 2025 vs Miami - 12 points
- 2026 vs Baylor - 17 points
As we have pointed out, Florida’s loss to Golesh and his USF squad last year was more due to Florida’s anemic offense than to getting shredded by anything the Bulls did. So even though Florida’s defense has had concerns of its own, what Golesh has proven over the years is that his offense tends to struggle when forced to face superior athletes.
Saturday will be a test as to whether stacking your roster with guys you know versus stacking your roster with Power Four talent is the superior method of roster construction in 2026.
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