Maybe Jon Sumrall isn't mentioning the "rat poison" that Nick Saban so famously talked about, but the Florida Gators coach clearly subscribes to the belief that any talk of greatness or being an odds favorite is dangerous to inhale.
Florida is back in the AP Top 25 poll for the first time in over a calendar year. For the first time in four years, the Gators will take on Ole Miss in a game at The Swamp where the home and visiting teams are ranked. The last time was September 10, 2022, against Kentucky. Florida came out on the short side that evening, losing 26-16 to the Wildcats and basically ending any true optimism of the Billy Napier era shortly after it began.
That could be why Sumrall is a little apprehensive about all this rankings talk. Florida hasn't handled success well over the past few years and Sumrall knows that getting in the Top 25 is a lot easier than staying there.
Sumrall on the AP Top 25 Poll:
— Curan Ahern (@CuranAhern) September 21, 2026
“I mean, that's such garbage. It's Week 4. They shouldn't have even come out with rankings yet. I mean, it's atrocious that we're even talking about being ranked.” pic.twitter.com/XLoLFgxHtw
Jon Sumrall doesn't have time for rankings with Ole Miss on tap
A big game is a big game and Saturday's clash against the Rebels is a big game. It would be a big game whether the Gators held the No. 21 ranking or not, and it's one that would get Gainesville rocking if Florida were to come through. And that's the most important thing — winning.
Sumrall knows that the ranking isn't going to mean squat when the ball is kicked. The Swamp is going to be rocking, but the crowd can only do so much if the pass rush can't get to Trinidad Chambliss. So, there's no need to worry about any additional outside noise because the challenge that's standing in front of the Gators is more than adequate.
"The goal is how do we get to 1-0 each week? Well, if we don't do a lot of self-improvement, we have no shot," Sumrall added. "They got the best quarterback in college football, I think. He's a dude. And so they've got a lot of great weapons. So we've got a lot to work on ourselves."
There's nothing better than being in Gainesville when Florida is playing good football. Everyone's excited about the Gators after three games and they should be. The team truly looks like they've taken a step forward and completely bought into the culture that Sumrall has been trying to cultivate. But things can change in a matter of minutes.
Very few teams get through the SEC cleanly. You can look at some of the great teams over the past few decades and not many have escaped it with a zero in the loss column. The Gators will have to go head-to-head with some extremely tough competition and Sumrall doesn't want them to lose focus by thinking about the things that don't matter.
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