- Florida's football team, under Jon Sumrall, delivered a fun experience against Florida Atlantic on Saturday night at the Swamp.
- The NFL 2026 season begins with a Super Bowl rematch between New England and Seattle on NBC Wednesday.
- Steve Spurrier leads Florida coaches with 202 weeks ranked in the AP Top 25, while Billy Napier's teams were ranked for only five weeks.
The Front 9 comes at you after a hot night in the Swamp, which can be reality or a metaphor.
1. Hey, I know it was only one game and the opponent won four games last year but SO DID FLORIDA! Just to have a game where you weren’t grousing and feeling nervous was a pleasure in the Swamp. Everything about Saturday night was what we hoped it would be (except the fact that the FAU quarterback completed 34 passes). Jon Sumrall delivered on his promise to Make Florida Fun Again. For one night, it certainly was.
2. Florida was not alone on Saturday. One SEC game was interesting (Auburn surviving Baylor). The other 14 games had an average scoring margin of 42 points. And they didn’t have a drone show.
3. FOMO game of the week
The king is back. The NFL season begins with a beauty, a rematch of the Super Bowl when New England plays at Seattle on NBC at 8:20 p.m. On a Wednesday! Yay! The Seahawks are favored by 3.5 points.
4. Four questions with ESPN’s Jeff Darlington, a University of Florida graduate and former intern at the Gainesville Sun
- How excited are you about this NFL season, especially since ESPN has the Super Bowl?
Darlington: I’m thrilled. I’ve had a really fun offseason that’s included new challenges, and I loved covering The Masters and Wimbledon. And now, I’m in New York for the US Open. All awesome. All really incredible events to cover. But when it comes to the sports I cover… football is still the love of my life. It always will be. Once I hit the ground for Week 1, there’s no looking back until the confetti falls in February. It’s going to be a really fun season for ESPN. - What was more beneficial for your career — getting a degree from UF or your one-semester internship under me at the Gainesville Sun?
Darlington: The Journalism school taught me the art of reporting. My conversations with you at the Gainesville Sun taught me the art of wasting countless hours on the job. In all seriousness, we can joke — but seeing you work was both motivating and educating. I learned a lot from you about establishing relationships through trust and normalcy. - Have you grown tired of people asking you about the morning you were there when Scottie Scheffler was arrested?
Darlington: No!! It remains an equally incredible story to me, too. I don’t grow tired of sharing the story because I recognize how interesting it is. For me, I try to be careful about oversharing in public forums because I never want to let the plight of someone else, in this case Scottie, to be something I trivialize. But on a golf course? Or at a bar? I’ll tell that story whenever anyone wants to hear it. - Since you live in South Florida, how often have you played Grande Oaks in Davie where “Caddyshack” was filmed?
Darlington: I’m actually a member at Grande Oaks! That’s my home course, and I try to get out there weekly. It is a great hang, and I think we all subconsciously embrace the Caddyshack mentality out there. All of the starters, the clubhouse workers, the locker room guys, the bartenders… It’s just a great, fun group. We have a little corner of the pro shop dedicated to Caddyshack gear, but otherwise, you probably wouldn’t know the history of the course. You need to come play when you’re down here. (I won the 2008 BCS Media Tournament there.)
5. The five coaches since 1950 who have spent the most weeks ranked in the AP Top 25 poll
- Steve Spurrier: 202 weeks (out of a possible 203).
- Urban Meyer: 89 weeks.
- Dan Mullen: 52 weeks (in a row).
- Galen Hall: 49 weeks.
- Doug Dickey: 47 weeks.
In case you are curious, Billy Napier’s teams at UF were ranked (checks notes) for five weeks. Five.
6. This will happen this week
You are going to believe me when I tell you at some point on a Saturday that seems to be plodding along, you’re going to see a score and get a little freaked out and try to find it among your 800 channels. That was the case with Michigan-Western Michigan, which looked like a massive upset and then just got people upset.
7. Hot take of the week
Dr. Stuart Bell is off to a good start at Florida. UF’s new president did the Gator Walk — which was bonkers Saturday — with his family and then in the first quarter we heard the “Gator Bait” chant make its return. He lobbied for that on a Jacksonville radio show this summer. I have looked like it this way: If I have to look up why a cheer is considered offensive, I’m probably not offended. Remember that there was a movement to get the students to stop “Move Back You Suck!” Let the kids have some fun.
8. Tweet of the week
From Mark Ennis, Louisville radio host: “So, the Big Ten says they made the right call using the super secret clock that is totally real, you just don’t know this clock. She goes to another school. Got it.”
9. Remote drop of the week
I stumbled into this one, but it was a good stumble. Just some of the cast of “The Chase” — Robert Redford, Jane Fonda, Robert Duvall, Marlon Brando, Marlon Brando’s sister and Angie Dickinson.