Florida is coming off an absolute beatdown at the hands of Missouri. The key for Jon Sumrall and the Gators will be how Florida responds over the next couple of weeks against South Carolina and Texas. Win these next two and everything is back on track. Lose to South Carolina and everything gets called into question.
With that mind, this is how Sumrall’s 2022 and 2023 squads at Troy, along with his 2024 and 205 squads at Tulane, responded after each loss of the season, not counting bowl game or playoff losses that ended the season.
How Jon Sumrall has responded to losses in the past
2022 at Troy
Loss to Ole Miss 28-10; beat Alabama A&M 38-17
All things considered, Troy’s loss to Ole Miss that year was a respectable loss, and Troy was able to hold Jaxson Dart in check. The irony of this grouping is that the win the following week over FCS squad Alabama A&M, who went 4-7 in 2022, was probably the less impressive result.
Loss to Appalachian State 32-28; beat Marshall 16-7
Sumrall has referenced this loss throughout the offseason as Troy gave up a Hail Mary at the buzzer to lose to Appalachian State. He has pointed out how proud he was of Troy’s bounce-back to beat a Marshall squad that finished 9-4 in 2022.
2023 at Troy
Loss to Kansas State 42-13; Loss to James Madison 16-14
This one had to be rough because Troy was coming off a successful 2022 campaign and had high hopes for the 2023 season. But they did not have a great showing against Kansas State and were then shut down by James Madison the following week.
Loss to James Madison 16-14; beat Western Kentucky 27-24
The silver lining is that James Madison was coached by Curt Cignetti at the time, so that loss wasn’t as bad as maybe it felt in real time. But starting the following week, Troy went on a winning streak that lasted all the way through the rest of the regular season.
2024 at Tulane
Loss to Kansas State 34-27; Loss to Oklahoma 34-19
It’s hard to be critical of these back-to-back results, and Tulane put a scare into two separate Power Four teams.
Loss to Oklahoma 34-19; beat Louisiana 41-33
Darian Mensah was held to 83 yards passing and the Green Wave still put up 41 points. What feels notable from this game is that after Louisiana pulled within 38-33 in the 4th quarter, Tulane went on a 7-minute, 35-second drive that ended with a field goal. When we commented in terms of the offseason that Sumrall has a tendency to get conservative in the 4th quarter and grind the clock out, this is one of those moments we reference.
Loss to Memphis 34-24; Loss to Army 35-14
Tulane did not end the 2024 season on a high note and they went from being the potential Group of Five representative in the playoffs to not even winning the conference after getting blown out in the American Conference title game.
Loss to Army 35-14; Loss to Florida 33-8
We don’t hold this one against Sumrall, even if it was against The Man in the Black Polo, because Tulane at this point was missing a number of guys, including Mensah, who had opted out of the bowl game.
2025 at Tulane
Loss to Ole Miss 45-10; beat Tulsa 31-14
Tulane got blown out by Ole Miss, which probably should have been closer. The win over Tulsa was fine, though they were 4-8 last year.
Loss to UTSA 48-26; beat Memphis 38-32
After a bad loss to UTSA, this win over Memphis was probably the most significant of Sumrall’s career to this point as it kept Tulane at the front of the line for the American Conference and it kept Tulane’s playoff hopes alive.
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