Auburn could've been the hottest upstart in the SEC this season but instead, because of its bone-headed approach to its head coaching search, the Tigers are watching Florida take that mantle into the Week 5 rankings. The Gators landed at No. 8, the first time they've been in the Top 10 in five years, after a signature win over then-No. 4 Ole Miss.
They carried that winning momentum over from Week 3 when the Gators chomped Auburn 44-39 on the road. Tigers head coach Alex Golesh had an opportunity to prove the school made the right decision not to pursue Jon Sumrall (who had heavy ties to the school but ultimately was hired by Florida) but couldn't get it done. Now the Gators are soaring and could be primed for a surprise run at the conference title. That could've been Auburn.
Outside of the loss to Florida, the Tigers struggled to put away two other comparable opponents. They eeked out a one-point win over Baylor in Week 1 and held off a regressing Vanderbilt squad 21-15 just Saturday. At 3-1 they aren't out of the SEC race by a long shot but if they couldn't beat Florida, four straight upcoming weeks facing ranked conference opponents -- Tennessee, Georgia, LSU and Ole Miss -- could very well bury them at 3-5 entering November.
Auburn's future SEC revival will be delayed by Jon Sumrall's Florida success
Florida's schedule is extremely manageable with only No. 1 Texas and No. 2 Georgia lined up consecutively to end October. The Gators really only need to snag one out of two in order to guarantee a College Football Playoff berth (given they win the rest of its contests). The way Sumrall has his players punching above their weight in year one suggests Florida is going to be in the SEC mix for the forseeable future.
Again, that could've been Auburn. The program has been trying to restore its position as a premier destination in the SEC just as long as Florida has, but Sumrall, who lifted Tulane to a College Football Playoff berth last year, had the bigger name recognition compared to Golesh in last year's coaching carousel. The Tigers may have liked Golesh's coaching philosophy better, but it doesn't appear to be translating as well as Sumrall's is in Gainesville.
"I still like Alex Golesh a lot but I blame [Auburn] athletic director John Cohen for this loss [to Florida]," ESPN's Paul Finebaum told WJOX on Sept. 21. "This game was lost Thanksgiving Weekend of 2025 when [Cohen's] massive ego got in the way of hiring Jon Sumrall."
The latter will automatically have the advantage on the recruiting trail barring an absolute meltdown the rest of this season. That's going to impact Golesh's ability to keep Auburn's rebuild on schedule. Had Sumrall been hired, he would've lured quarter back Aaron Philo (917 yards, seven touchdowns, two interceptions) and more to lead the program. Imagine the different that would've made compared to Byrum Brown (896 yards, six touchdowns, five interceptions).
Now Auburn's got to live with its decision and hope Golesh takes the Florida loss as the ultimate motivation. Don't count on it considering college football is a game of momentum and Sumrall has all of it right now.
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