Jon Sumrall Reveals Where Florida Can 'Mature' Going Forward

The Florida Gators were blown off the field last weekend, dropping their first game of the season to Missouri in a tough contest.

So, coming into this week's game against the South Carolina Gamecocks, the Gators will be trying to bounce back. Florida still has everything in front of them despite the rough loss a week ago, and it all starts with getting the win over South Carolina.

The Gators know that they need a better showing this week in front of their home fans in order to right the ship. But South Carolina won't roll over, and this team will be trying to correct their own issues this season.

The Gamecocks will come in with a record of 2-3 on the season, and getting a road win over a ranked team could help everything. Florida will have to be on its A-game in this contest, focusing on not overlooking South Carolina at all.

Florida head coach Jon Sumrall opened up about his team's play through the first few weeks of the year, discussing how this team can mature. Sumrall pointed directly to penalties, which are an area where the Gators have struggled in so far.

Through three conference games, Florida has committed 32 penalties, which just isn't going to get the job done. The Gators rank 15th out of 16 games in penalties committed (43) and the team is last in penalty yardage (87.4 per game).

For the Gators to reach their goals of being a title contending team, or even to make the College Football Playoff, this will need to be cleaned up. Playing in the SEC is hard enough throughout a long regular season, and if Florida beats itself, more weeks like the game against Missouri will take place.

Sumrall understands that he is dealing with a team that came into the season without title expectations, at least from the outside. But this group has shown a lot of fight this year so far, and they have the tools to take advantage of the situation that they are currently in.

Florida is currently ranked No. 16 in the country, and if they can get a win over South Carolina, it could offer some real momentum back to the group. The Gators have a very tough game against the Texas Longhorns following the Gamecocks matchup, giving the team an opportunity to grab another statement victory.

But for now, Florida will focus on South Carolina, hoping to put together a strong effort to come away with the win.