Florida’s trip to Austin brings a hard look at just how dangerous Texas can be when the pieces click - and why the Longhorns remain one of the most talent-loaded teams in the country even with some uneven play. No.
7 Texas enters at 4-1, 1-1 SEC, with Florida coming in at 4-2, 2-2 SEC for a 12 p.m. ET kickoff.
The Longhorns are not flawless, as Gator Country’s David Wunderlich noted, but they can overwhelm a game with high-end talent. Texas could have multiple first-round picks, and four different players are showing up in various mock drafts inside the top 10 of the 2027 NFL Draft. That starts with the guy who can wreck a game before it ever settles in.
Colin Simmons has been the most dominant defender in college football this season. The edge rusher leads the country with 9.5 sacks in only five games and is fresh off a monster 5.5-sack outing against Tennessee, followed by two more sacks against Oklahoma.
At 6-foot-3 and 246 pounds, Simmons combines a lightning-quick first step with elite bend, the kind of tools that make life miserable for offensive tackles. Florida already had a rough time dealing with Dylan Stewart last week, and this is another brutal assignment.
Simmons is the premier name to circle in this matchup.
On offense, Arch Manning is still sorting through the ups and downs of a season that’s been defined by flashes of brilliance and moments that swing the other way fast. Texas’ offense has been average, and Manning’s inconsistency has played a big part in that.
He’s thrown for 10 touchdowns and five interceptions, and he has turned the ball over in every game except one. Last week against Oklahoma summed him up perfectly: he threw a costly late interception, then answered with an NFL-style drive to produce a quick touchdown.
The Longhorns should lean harder into Manning as a runner, because that’s where his athleticism can really tilt the field. He has the arm talent to make every throw, and Florida should expect to see plenty of that on Saturday. The ceiling is exactly why some evaluators see him as a potential top pick in the NFL Draft, even if the misses are still part of the package.
The receiving threat that jumps off the page is Cam Coleman. The junior wideout has dealt with a Texas offense that hasn’t always found its rhythm, but the production is still there: 17 catches, 318 yards and five touchdowns in five games.
At 6-foot-3 and 204 pounds, Coleman brings enough speed to threaten the deep part of the field, and he has a reputation for coming down with contested grabs. He’s been targeted 11 times on throws of 20 yards or more, 12 times on passes between 10 and 20 yards, and only seven times on throws under 10 yards, which tells you exactly how Texas wants to use him.
He can line up outside or in the slot, though he’s mostly an outside receiver, and Manning will try to force him the ball. That connection is one of the key things to watch.
Rasheem Biles has been everywhere for Texas on defense. The linebacker leads the team with 41 tackles and has added two interceptions, while also showing he can do more than sit inside and clean things up.
Biles will line up outside the tackle and come after the quarterback, and he already has six pressures and a sack. At 6-foot-1 and 222 pounds, he’s undersized for the position, but production has never been the issue.
Before transferring to Texas, he led the ACC with 17 tackles for loss at Pitt in 2025. He’s aggressive against the run and strong in coverage, which makes him a constant factor.
Then there’s Trevor Goosby, the kind of offensive lineman who usually doesn’t make a watch list unless he’s something special. Texas’ left tackle is exactly that.
At 6-foot-7 and 325 pounds, Goosby is one of the top tackle prospects in the 2027 NFL Draft class, and maybe the best of the bunch. He made Bruce Feldman’s annual Freaks List before the season for good reason: he’s a rare athlete for his size and handles both run and pass blocking at a high level.
He hasn’t allowed a sack in 2026, and over his four-year career he has given up just three. Against the kind of pass rush Texas carries, protecting the blind side matters as much as ever, and Goosby is a major reason the Longhorns can keep Manning upright.
In Other News...
Florida Fans May See That 2024 Decommitment Wave Very Differently
Floridas 2024 recruiting cycle has taken on a different look a year later, especially when it comes to the group of prospects who backed away from their pledges. Xavier Filsaime is one of the more notable examples, with the former Gators commit now at Texas and dealing with an injury-plagued season that has kept him from making the kind of impact many expected when he was being recruited.
He is hardly alone in that regard. A review of seven top recruits from Floridas 2024 class who decommitted shows a mixed return at their new schools, with limited playing time, multiple transfers in some cases and several players still searching for a steady role. For Florida fans, the early frustration of losing those names may look a little different now, because the path away from Gainesville has not exactly produced a clean win for everyone involved. [Read more 🡒]
Floridas Texas Game Suddenly Rests On One Huge QB Decision
Aaron Philos shoulder issue has turned Floridas trip to Texas into a late-week waiting game, with the Gators listing their quarterback as a gametime decision. If Philo is unable to go, Tramell Jones would be in line for his first career start, a major shift in the spotlight for a team trying to sort out its offense on short notice.
The uncertainty does not stop at quarterback. Vernell Brown III and Bailey Stockton are also listed as gametime decisions, while backup running back Duke Clark will not play, leaving Florida to piece together its depth chart as kickoff approaches. For a Gators team heading into a difficult matchup, the final availability report could end up shaping far more than just one position. [Read more 🡒]
Florida Just Proved It Can Still Take Down SEC Heavyweights
Floridas 27-24 win at Texas did more than just hand the Longhorns another loss, it reminded the SEC that the Gators still have the kind of upset punch that can change the conversation in a hurry. With backup quarterback Tramell Jones throwing two touchdown passes, Florida knocked off a No. 1-ranked team on the road and added a signature result to a season that now looks a lot more dangerous than it did a week ago.
The bigger takeaway for Florida is what the win says about its place in the league race. The Gators had not beaten two top-10 teams in the same season since 2012, and doing it in this setting gives the program a real benchmark under the lights. Texas, meanwhile, saw Arch Manning finish 14 of 20 for 173 yards and a touchdown, but the more telling number was the one attached to the Longhorns recent slide - two straight losses after opening the streak at No. 1. [Read more 🡒]