Vernell Brown III put on a show, scoring twice off punt returns and catching a touchdown pass in Florida’s 52-3 victory over FCS opponent Campbell Saturday night in Gainesville, Fla.
Brown finished with 262 all-purpose yards, returning consecutive punts 64 and 70 yards for scores, while Aaron Philo threw a pair of scoring strikes, including one to Brown.
The Gators rolled up 514 yards. Philo was 16-of-21 passing for 242 yards, while Jaden Baugh finished with 14 carries for 136 yards and two scores.
Florida (2-0) held an opponent to less than 10 points for the first time since its 55-0 win over LIU in its 2025 season opener.
The Gators held the Camels to 210 yards of offense, including only 62 on the ground. Kamden Sixkiller was 16-of-30 for 127 yards.
Riding the momentum of their first 2-0 start since 2018, the Camels (2-1) got on the scoreboard first thanks to Alex Crabb’s 29-yard field goal at the 12:18 mark of the first quarter.
The Gators answered with a 9-play drive that ended with Philo finding the end zone on a 3-yard keeper for a 7-3 lead with 8:11 to go in the first quarter.
Patrick Durkin’s 28-yard field goal gave Florida a 10-3 lead at the end of the quarter, and special teams continued to play a role for the Gators in the second quarter on the strength of Brown’s back-to-back punt returns for touchdowns.
On the second return, Brown found daylight near the Gator logo at midfield, eluding a few defenders and racing down the right sideline for the score.
Philo threw two touchdown passes in the second quarter, including a 14-yard toss to Brown with 3:30 left in the half to make it 38-3. The other was a 40-yard pass to Dallas Wilson nearly six minutes earlier.
Baugh’s 2-yard run up the middle with 20 seconds remaining lifted the Gators to a 45-3 lead at the half. Baugh added a 75-yard run with 3:28 left in the third as the Gators took a 52-3 lead into the final quarter, where there was no scoring.
