Florida’s trip to Texas in Week 7 now has a kickoff time.
The Gators will face the No. 1 Longhorns at 12:00 p.m.
ET on Saturday, Oct. 17 at Darrell K Royal Stadium in Austin. The network has not been locked in yet, but the SEC said the final TV assignment will be announced after Week 6, with ESPN or ABC set to carry the game.
It shapes up as the biggest test yet for Jon Sumrall’s Florida team. Texas is 4-0 overall and 1-0 in conference play, and Arch Manning leads a roster that has put itself in position to sit at the top of the rankings.
Florida is headed into a brutal stretch that also includes a Week 9 neutral-site meeting with No. 2 Georgia, and that matchup is already set for a 3:30 p.m.
ET kickoff on ABC.
Before any of that, though, Florida has to handle business in Week 6. The Gators host South Carolina, a 2-3 team that is 0-3 in SEC play and has dropped three straight. That game matters more than the bigger-picture talk around Texas and Georgia, especially after Florida’s Week 5 loss.
Texas has its own Week 6 business to attend to as well, heading to the Cotton Bowl for a neutral-site matchup with Oklahoma. The Sooners are 2-2 overall and 0-1 in conference play after being beaten by Georgia.
Florida’s path to Austin is already mapped out. Now the only question left is how the Gators look when they get there.
In Other News...
Floridas Bounce-Back Shot Just Got More Complicated Before South Carolina
Floridas attempt to bounce back against South Carolina may end up sharing the spotlight with the weather before kickoff. A tropical storm named Isaias is expected to form in the Gulf and could move toward the Florida Panhandle on Saturday, adding an extra layer of uncertainty around the Gators scheduled game.
Florida and SEC officials have not announced any contingency plans yet, but the situation could complicate travel, game operations or even force a postponement if the storms path worsens. For now, everything still hinges on how Isaias develops and where it ultimately tracks, leaving the Gators and their fans waiting on more than just the matchup itself. [Read more 🡒]
Jon Sumrall Just Took A Very Different Tone With Gators Fans
After Floridas loss to Missouri, Jon Sumrall didnt bristle at the noise coming from the fan base. Instead, he acknowledged it and welcomed it, a notable shift for a program where every stumble tends to bring a fresh wave of scrutiny. Sumralls response leaned into what Gators supporters have long prided themselves on: a passionate crowd that expects better and is not shy about saying so.
It was a different tone from the previous coaching era, one that was less receptive to outside criticism, and it offered a small but telling glimpse at how Sumrall plans to handle the pressure in Gainesville. The bigger question now is whether that openness can translate into results, because at Florida, fan frustration usually gets louder when the product on the field stays flat for too long. [Read more 🡒]
Florida Suddenly Faces A Bigger Question Than One Bad Loss
Floridas loss to Missouri was ugly enough on its own, but the bigger concern was how thoroughly the Tigers bottled up Jadan Baugh. The freshman running back managed just 13 yards on 12 carries, his quietest outing of the season, and Florida never found a way to get its ground game moving. When that happens, the rest of the offense can start to look rushed and disconnected, which is exactly what showed up in the 45-17 defeat.
Even with the blowout, Florida is still viewed as a team with real upside and a path to the College Football Playoff conversation. But games like this tend to raise a different kind of question: if Baugh is the engine of the offense, how quickly can the Gators answer when an opponent takes him away? That issue may matter more in the weeks ahead than the score in Columbia did on Saturday. [Read more 🡒]