The Florida Gators entered Saturday unbeaten and ranked No. 8, but their trip to face the Missouri Tigers ended in a 45-17 loss that exposed problems on both sides of the ball and stopped their 4-0 start.
One day later, star running back Jadan Baugh reached out directly to head coach Jon Sumrall.
Sumrall revealed during his Monday media availability that Baugh sent him a text taking responsibility for his performance.
“He texted me yesterday,” Sumrall said, “and he’s like, ‘Coach, I’m sorry. I won’t let that ever happen again. I didn’t play my best.’ I love Jadan because he owned it, and he’s ready to move forward.”
Baugh entered the game as an early Heisman Trophy contender after rushing for 600 yards and 11 touchdowns through four games. However, he found a wall in Missouri as the Tigers held him to 13 yards on 12 carries. Baugh gained 12 yards on his first attempt and only one yard across his final 11 carries.
Sumrall said the running back was not solely responsible for the collapse.
“I think sometimes in the running back position—he’s created a lot of runs at times on his own,” Sumrall said. “Sometimes, the offensive line has done great. Sometimes, perimeter blocking has been great. Sometimes, he’s made plays that weren’t even there.
“We didn’t do enough to help him as a team on Saturday in my opinion, across the board, and I don’t think he was his best either.”
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Florida finished with only 42 rushing yards on 25 attempts after gaining 302 yards on the ground in its previous game against Ole Miss.
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The No. 16 Gators return home to face South Carolina on Saturday at 12:45 p.m. ET.
