Alex Golesh’s high-octane offense and a revitalized Auburn Tigers defense threaten to spoil Florida Gators HC Jon Sumrall’s SEC debut, turning a critical September road test into a potential season-defining trap.
New Florida Gators head coach Jon Sumrall is getting the bulk of the headlines for first-year coaches in the SEC, but he's not the only name that should put the conference on alert before the fall.
Alex Golesh led USF to wins over Boise State and Florida last year before finishing with a 9-3 record. His success with the Bulls led to the Auburn Tigers hiring him to replace Hugh Freeze.
During his show on Sunday, Josh Pate labeled Auburn as a "darkhorse" in the SEC for the upcoming seasons.
"Auburn's the dark horse in the SEC... You found a really, really high-caliber G5 head coach and Alex Golesh that was ready for the big time," Pate said. "He brought a lot of his guys with him."
"USF was number three in total offense last year, and defense at Auburn was already good. It may be better this year than it was last year. They kept DJ Durkin as defensive coordinator.”
Auburn is a wild-card team this year. They lost a lot of key offensive talent from last year, but Golesh should know what he wants from the players that transferred in.
How fast Golesh can turn around Auburn is going to be a big deal for Florida.
The Gators will play two tune-up games to start its season with FAU and Campbell at home. Those games will be key for whoever wins the quarterback battle between Tramell Jones Jr. and Aaron Philo because the SEC schedule starts for Florida on Sept. 19.
The Gators will travel to play Auburn on Sept. 19, and the contest between Sumrall and Golesh will be telling about where each new head coach is at in Year 1.
The road contest won't be easy for the Gators, and they can't afford a loss with Ole Miss and Missouri coming up in the next two weeks.
Welcome to the SEC, Sumrall.
If Auburn is a darkhorse and earns a victory over Florida, it could be a rough season for Sumrall's bunch, who will still have to play Texas, Georgia, and Oklahoma later in the season.
