GAINESVILLE — With Ole Miss and superstar quarterback Trinidad Chambliss coming to town, the message was hard to miss.
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“Run The Damn Baugh.”
The sign sits on a fan’s front yard along Second Avenue, catty-corner to Sanders Outdoor Practice Field, offering unsolicited advice to the No. 21 Gators ahead of Saturday’s SEC showdown in the Swamp with No. 4 Ole Miss.
Buster Faulkner would approve.
The Gators’ offensive coordinator isn’t searching for answers with Florida averaging 54 points. But as the schedule gets tougher, continued success hinges on unleashing Heisman candidate Jadan Baugh and the ground game.
In an increasingly pass-happy sport, Florida’s ability to “Run the Baugh” — a phrase now rooted in Gator Nation’s vernacular — will be critical to beat the Rebels (3-0, 1-0 SEC).
“I still believe you’ve got to be able to run the football to win in really all the levels of the game,” Faulkner said Tuesday. “That’s part of who we are and hopefully our identity is starting to be established.”
Following a pivotal 44-39 win last weekend at Auburn, the Gators (3-0, 1-0) have quickly implemented an offensive ethos under first-year coach Jon Sumrall.
Baugh has been virtually unstoppable out of the backfield. Aaron Philo has been surgical at quarterback. Sophomore receivers Vernell Brown III and Dallas Wilson have been slippery and explosive on the perimeter.
Plenty of others also have pitched in for an offense tied for the national lead with an average for 7.7 plays of 20 yards or longer and third with an average of 544.3 — a tenth of a yard behind Mississippi State.
The depth and balance have given Faulkner options, along with the ability to keep his stars fresh and focused.
Baugh’s 458 rushing yards are second nationally to Duke’s Nate Sheppard, who has 528. But Baugh has recorded just 54 carries compared with Sheppard’s 82.
Wilson averages 18.8 yards on 12 catches and Brown 17.6 on 14 grabs, ranking among the top-10 in the SEC in yards per reception.
Meanwhile, Philo has attempted 21, 21 and 22 throws, respectively, in Florida’s three wins, while averaging 11.3 per pass and completing 73.4% of them. Among SEC signal callers, he ranks second to Georgia’s Gunnar Stockton in both categories.
The all-time passing yards leader in Georgia high-school history, Philo has assumed the role of point guard and traffic cop in Faulkner’s offense.
“He wants to throw it every down, that’s what he’s used to,” Faulkner said. “We’ve got a lot of good players. We’ve got to distribute the football, and he’s done a great job doing that.”
Faulkner arrived from Georgia Tech with a vision of best utilizing his weapons at Florida.
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Philo’s decision to follow him to Gainesville after two seasons together offered continuity, as did the additions of several other former Yellow Jackets — center Harrison Moore, tight end Luke Harpring and receiver Bailey Stockton. Auburn transfer receiver Eric Singleton had played at Georgia Tech in 2023-24.
When spring practices opened March 3, Faulkner set out to install the foundation of his offense to determine the Gators’ identity.
“Formations, shifts, motions, all the run game, all the pass game, that was installed,” he recalled. “We just kept doing it, doing it, doing it. Then you kind of see, okay, you’re a little bit better at this, a little bit better at that — and you start tailoring it to those things.
“Then each week we add a little nuance to it. You’re always evolving and it takes time to find the identity.”
By Florida’s Sept. 5 season opener against Florida Atlantic, the Gators had a plan in place having banked more than 10,000 offensive snaps. Each was charted by analyst Ryland Goede, a former Georgia Tech tight end who was on Faulkner’s staff last season.
A 66-point night against the Owls, the most points scored in a Florida opener since 1994, was the finished product.
Yet it also was just the beginning.
At Auburn, Faulkner and the Gators continued to spread their offensive wings during the Florida’s first win at Jordan-Hare Stadium since 1999.
Among the highlights of a 495-yard night, seventh-year wide receiver Kahleil Jackson, a former high school quarterback, connected on a trick play with tight end Amir Jackson for a 48-yard gain to set up a Florida field goal.
“I’m not known for calling many trick plays, but that one was sound,” Faulkner said Tuesday. “It’s hard for me to want to call them, because sometimes I feel like they’re wasted plays.”
Admittedly “conservative by nature,” Faulkner prefers to lean on what he knows. After all, it’s been working in a program that has struggled to consistently score points during a stretch of four losing seasons in five years.
As good as Faulkner has been through three games, Sumrall’s decision to hire him was proved among the most consequential calls the Gators have made in a long time. Florida’s coach was sold on his track record of success, but even more on Faulkner’s ability to adapt.
“You have to go into it with an open mind,” Sumrall said. “You can’t ever go into it with a thought process of knowing what you have until you have it. You got to figure it out.
“He does a great job.”
Three games into the season, Faulkner isn’t satisfied. But to keep pace with Chambliss and Co., he – and every Florida fan — know a good place to start.
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Run the damn Baugh.
Edgar Thompson can be reached at [email protected]
Up next
What: Ole Miss (3-0, 1-0) at UF (3-0, 1-0)
When: 3:30 p.m., Saturday
Where: Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Gainesville
TV: ABC
Favorite: Florida by 3.5 points