The time has finally come.
Jon Sumrall’s Florida Gators kick off their 2026 season against the Florida Atlantic Owls. Kickoff is set for approximately 7:55 p.m. Saturday at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville. Follow along for live updates.
Q1 | 14:54: On 1st and 10, FAU QB Caden Veltkamp tosses it to WR Easton Messer, who then attempts a double-pass. It’s incomplete.
KICKOFF: UF’s Patrick Durkin kicks off the season with a boot that lands in the end zone. FAU will begin its drive from the 25 yard-line.
COIN-TOSS: Florida Atlantic calls heads on the toss, and it lands on heads. FAU will receive to start the game.
MOMENTS BEFORE KICKOFF: This week’s honorary Mr. Two-Bits is former first-team All-SEC RB Ciatrick Fason. Now, here come the Gators, led by an introduction video narrated by Morgan Freeman.
Florida Atlantic comes out to a loud chorus of jeers from the crowd.
WARM-UPS: Florida’s starting lineup is being announced over the loudspeakers. The biggest ovations were for QB Aaron Philo, RB Jadan Baugh, WRs Vernell Brown III and Dallas Wilson, JACK Jayden Woods and LB Myles Graham.
Just over an hour before kickoff, a majority of the Florida roster is out on the field in uniform doing drills. UF Director of Football Performance Rusty Whitt and Sumrall are leading the drills. At the end, the entire Florida team came together in a large huddle, where Sumrall hyped up the team.
True freshman wide receiver Davian Groce is not in uniform, likely signaling he will be out tonight.
PREGAME: While Florida was not required to release a full availability report before this non-conference bout, Sumrall provided injury updates earlier this week. Notably, no player listed as a starter or direct backup on UF’s first official depth chart is out of action today.
After a little bit of rain in Gainesville in the early afternoon, the forecast projects as cloudy skies with wind blowing 4 mph. The temperature throughout the game should remain in the high-70s or low-80s degrees Fahrenheit.
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Max Bernstein
Max Bernstein is a fourth-year sports and media journalism major and sports management minor. This Fall, he is a Sports Editor and a Florida Gators and Jacksonville Jaguars reporter at The Alligator. Now in his ninth semester with The Alligator, Max previously served in roles including Digital Managing Editor, Sports Editor, Assistant Sports Editor and Football Reporter. He has also made appearances on the Paul Finebaum Show. In the rare moments Max isn’t working, he’s usually with his girlfriend Reese, watching sports with his fraternity brothers or missing his family and his two cats.