Mizzou is coming off its first loss of the season, a 31-24 defeat at Mississippi State. This season is the first since 2022 that the Tigers failed to start 4-0. It also snaps a three-year streak of the Tigers winning their Southeastern Conference opener.

“We clearly have to go back to work from the challenges and lessons that we learned from last weekend,” coach Eli Drinkwitz said Tuesday. “We can’t start that slow, and then we didn’t finish ... the way we needed to in the fourth quarter.”

Now, they return to Columbia for a Homecoming tussle with Florida. This is the first meeting between the programs since 2023, when Mizzou won 33-31 at Memorial Stadium. The Tigers converted an improbable fourth-and-17 from their own 33-yard line to set up a game-winning field goal with seconds remaining.

Florida is one of college football’s most historic programs, with three claimed national titles, the last in 2008. Since then, it’s seen a dip in prestige, recording losing records in four of the five last seasons. The Gators’ last 10-plus-win season came in 2019, which ended with an Orange Bowl victory. Last season, Florida fired Billy Napier after a 3-4 start, marking the third coaching change in the past 10 years. But the tide appears to be turning in Gainesville, Florida, since the hiring of coach Jon Sumrall from Tulane.

Proven winner

Sumrall played at Kentucky in the early 2000s then bounced around the coaching world, primarily serving as a linebackers coach and defensive coordinator before landing his first head-coaching job at Troy following the firing of current Mizzou offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey.

He spent two years with the Trojans before two more at Tulane, eventually finding his way back to the SEC. Entering this season, Sumrall had a record of 43-12 as a head coach. He led the Trojans to back-to-back Sun Belt championships and helped Tulane secure its only College Football Playoff appearance.

Now at Florida, he’s led the Gators to a 4-0 start after they demolished Ole Miss 52-28 last week at The Swamp. They opened SEC play with a big-time 44-39 road win at Auburn the week before. He has helped reinvigorate a proud program that is now being viewed as a possible contender for the CFP. The odds are stacked against it in a deep, talented SEC, but Florida is ready for the challenge.

“You can just see with the energy that he brings, the passion, his energy is infectious. The way his team plays reflects the passion,” Drinkwitz said. “If you know Jon at all, just reflects the way he carries himself, the confidence and physicality that he brings. You’ve got to tip your hat to (athletic director) Scott Stricklin and his committee for hiring exactly what the University of Florida needed and getting it right, and to see that turnaround has been really good for the SEC and obviously awesome for Florida.”

While Sumrall has been the leader of this turnaround, a plethora have transferred the culture shift onto the field.

Run it up

The Gators offense has been incredibly explosive, averaging 53.5 points per game through four games this season. They’ve racked up 532.8 yards per game, second in the conference only to Mississippi State.

Florida is second in the conference with 260 rushing yards per game. This ground game starts with Jadan Baugh in the backfield. He’s off to a Heisman-caliber start to the season, ranking second in the nation with 458 yards and tied for first in touchdowns with 11.

He combines explosiveness with durability, tallying 55 carries and 304 yards through two SEC games. While stopping the run is the strength of Mizzou’s defense, it has yet to see a running back near the caliber of Baugh.

“Probably right now the best (running back) in the country. Obviously, they do a tremendous job featuring him, getting him multiple different carries at multiple different angles. He’s downhill and physical,” Drinkwitz said. “Reminds me of a back that I saw last year quite a bit named Ahmad Hardy.”

Florida is sixth in the SEC in passing yards with 272.8 per game thanks to the arm of Georgia Tech transfer Aaron Philo.

Philo spent two seasons behind current Carolina Panthers quarterback Haynes King. As a Yellow Jacket, Philo recorded 938 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions. Now with Florida, he’s completed 63 of his 87 pass attempts for 917 yards, seven touchdowns and two interceptions.

His top targets this season have been the duo of Vernell Brown III and Dallas Wilson. They have combined for 507 yards and four touchdowns on 31 total receptions. But the duo struggled against Ole Miss, ending the win with just 36 combined yards.

While Brown and Wilson are the top threats, any receiver given enough space can beat you if Philo can find him. With the holes the Mizzou secondary has shown, Florida could prove a difficult matchup. Florida can run receivers by committee, with eight different Gators grabbing a reception against the Rebels.

Defensive downturns

If there’s a clear weakness on this Florida team, it’s the defense. The Gators rank 12th in the conference in total yards allowed per game and 15th in passing yards at 248.3. Their top three snap-takers at the cornerback position have all recorded a Pro Football Focus grade below 65 through four games. Their best secondary player has been safety Bryce Thornton, with a PFF grade of 75.1. He’s compiled 14 tackles with a pair of pass deflections across the Gators’ four games.

Mizzou could be poised to take advantage with a passing game averaging 263 yards per game. Quarterback Austin Simmons is coming off a 295-yard, three-touchdown performance in the loss in Starkville, Mississippi. He has yet to throw an interception as a Tiger. Florida has forced eight turnovers, including four interceptions, so far.

The Gators have performed well against the run, limiting opponents to 103 yards per game, a mark good enough for seventh in the conference. Interior defensive linemen DK Kalu and Brendan Bett lead the way with PFF grades above 80. The duo has combined for 11 tackles, one sack and a pair of forced fumbles. For a Mizzou offensive line struggling to find consistency, these two are a nightmare matchup.

Mizzou will aim to control the Florida offense while exploiting its defense when the two tango on Homecoming at 2:30 p.m., with the game airing on ABC.