It might be a good thing that, because of the SEC's schedule shift, Florida didn’t play Vanderbilt over the last two seasons. The Gators are 31-2 against the Commodores dating back to 1989, but Vanderbilt became one of the surprise teams in college football over the past two seasons while the Gators cratered to one of their worst seasons of the modern era.
Florida will play Vanderbilt on November 21 on Senior Day in The Swamp. The question for Florida fans, which will have plenty of time to be sorted out, is whether Vanderbilt’s last two years were simply a byproduct of Diego Pavia or if Vanderbilt is a legit SEC threat to stay.
Florida will face a Vanderbilt team still committed to a physical identity
Speaking at SEC Media Days, Vanderbilt head coach tried to paint a picture in his opening comments that Vanderbilt is here to stay:
“I'm especially grateful to our players, those who chose to stay and fight together, to build something meaningful while the world laughed from the safety of the sideline. I'm indebted, and I'm inspired, but let me be clear, progress is not the destination. Last season was not an arrival. It was simply another step in the climb.
Our objective remains what it's always been, to build the best football program in the country. While progress is encouraging, complacency is dangerous. The moment we turn to protect the ground we've covered, we stop our pursuit of what's possible at Vanderbilt. We must be willing to risk what we are for what we could become.”
He didn’t mention Pavia by name in his opening remarks, but he was asked multiple questions about his former star QB, who became the face of the program. Lea eventually admitted that replacing Pavia is no small task, but he hopes the precedent set will propel this Vanderbilt team forward into 2026:
“Well, we won't replicate Diego. He's unique in so many ways. Gosh, you know, to take just a moment and talk about how grateful I am to have coached him, to have had him be a part of our program for two years, then to pivot and say, you know, there are a lot of guys that have been working in the shadows doing all the little things that leaders do that haven't had the spotlight turned on them.
Now it will be, and now it's their turn. We inherit the standards, the culture, the attitude, the expectation to win. We don't inherit any one result from our past. So this group has to build its own chemistry. This group has to define its own identity as a team.”
Jon Sumrall might be the perfect antidote to beat modern-day Vanderbilt
Part of what confounded plenty of people around the country is that on paper, Vanderbilt’s roster in 2025 wasn’t super stacked. According to the 247 Talent Composite, they only had the No. 55 roster in the country.
But as Florida showcased last year with the No. 12 roster, there are plenty of teams who can be defeated if you smash them in the mouth and they aren’t ready for it. Lea at one point stated that:
“Everyone has a little different formula, different approach, but you know, Vanderbilt football is about a physical style of play. It's about an effort, an attitude. That's the starting point.”
This is where a Jon Sumrall-led team feels less prone to an upset compared to a Billy Napier-led team. Sumrall is the type of coach who probably enjoys his teams getting punched in the face because it gives them an excuse to punch back. As much as Napier tweeted “Spot the ball,” Sumrall has a legit hard-nosed style that can’t be faked.
And so if Vanderbilt plans to rely on smash-mouth football, but goes up against a team with a better roster that is willing to smash back, it can lead to problems for the Commodores.
Given this game is the second-to-last game of the season, we will know way more about Vanderbilt in November than we do now. But if we had to hedge our bets, Sumrall might be the perfect antidote to take on Vanderbilt in 2026.
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