Florida coach Jon Sumrall questions being favored against No. 4 Ole Miss in the Swamp

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Florida’s Jon Sumrall, like most coaches, welcomes as much external motivation as possible.

He’s not getting any help from oddsmakers this week.

The 21st-ranked Gators (3-0, 1-0 Southeastern Conference) are 3 1/2-point favorites against No. 4 Mississippi (3-0, 1-0) ahead of Saturday’s game at Florida Field. The line opened at 1 1/2 and has since moved more toward the home team.

“Who’s got us favored against these guys?” Sumrall asked Monday.

Everyone in Vegas.

“There’s a lot of good drugs out there, huh?” Sumrall quipped.

The Rebels, behind dynamic quarterback Trinidad Chambliss and speedy receiver Deuce Alexander, have quality wins against then-No. 16 Louisville in their opener in Nashville, Tennessee, and against then-No. 7 LSU at home last Saturday.

Florida, meanwhile, handled overmatched Florida Atlantic and lower-division Campbell before winning a shootout at Auburn. The 44-39 victory on the Plains landed Florida in the AP Top 25 for just the second time in three years.

“I did talk to our team about rankings in Week 4 mean nothing,” Sumrall said. “Nobody posts anything up in the building about this year’s team and where you’re ranked in Week 4. Nobody cares.

“And the pats on the back you’re getting? If you go out and lay an egg, they’re going to be the same hands hitting you in the back — and they’re going to have a knife.”

Florida is 3-0 for the first time since 2019, and the team’s 162 points rank fourth in program history through three games. The only years better: 1913, 1994 and 2007.

“It’ll definitely be a good test because it’s easy to block out negative noise, ‘I don’t want to hear that,’” defensive end Jayden Woods said. “But once you hear the praise and the positive noise, it’s easy to want to listen to it and let that come in. But it’s just as important to block that out.”

The Gators haven’t beaten a top-five team since then-No. 3 Ole Miss visited the Swamp in 2015. Florida rolled in that one, overwhelming Chad Kelly and the Rebels 38-10 early in coach Jim McElwain’s tenure.

The Rebels were favored by 6 1/2 in that one.

It’s more surprising that they are underdogs this week, especially after Florida gave up way too many explosive plays against the Tigers and were flagged 16 times for 138 yards.

The line has more to do with the game being in Gainesville, where the Gators have played well recently despite finishing with four losing seasons in the last five years. They have victories against five ranked teams at home over the last four years: knocking off Utah and South Carolina in 2022, Tennessee in 2023, Ole Miss in 2024 and Texas last season.

“We may get added points in Vegas for home-field advantage, like more than normal,” Sumrall said. “It’s a special place. … I fully expect our fanbase to be ready to go and create as much havoc as they possibly can and make it a tough place to play when we play big games like this one.”

Sumrall made it clear to his players that “if we play like we did last week or the previous week — really any of the weeks we played so far this year — we will not win Saturday. No chance.”

Oddsmakers see it differently, at least for now.

“Nobody ever wins a game on paper,” Florida receiver Vernell Brown III said.

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