The story in Austin was supposed to be Texas getting itself right.
Instead, Florida flipped the night on its head.
Down 17-3 in the second quarter, the Gators looked shaky, and sophomore quarterback Tramell Jones was having a rough time in his first career start on the road. Texas, even with a muted outing from Arch Manning, seemed set to regroup after the Red River mess and leave with a much-needed win.
But Florida kept hanging around long enough to change the temperature in Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium.
A late second-quarter touchdown gave Jones and the Gators a pulse, then Florida came out and tied the game on its first possession of the second half. From there, the Texas offense stalled and the Gators started to find answers.
Jadan Baugh was a big part of that swing. After a few weeks that hadn’t gone his way, the running back came through with key carries in the fourth quarter to ease the burden on Jones. Florida finally seized control when Baugh scored with a little more than six minutes left, giving the Gators 24 unanswered points and a 10-point cushion.
Texas wasn’t done, though. Manning again showed his ability to flip the script when his team is trailing at home in the fourth quarter. He uncorked a huge throw on fourth-and-7 to keep the Longhorns alive, then hit a touchdown pass to trim the deficit to three.
Momentum looked like it had swung completely back to Texas after a three-and-out, but disaster struck when Manning was sacked and fumbled. Florida recovered and had the opening it needed.
Jones finished the job with a smart third-down run for a first down after Texas had burned through all of its timeouts, and the Gators went into victory formation for a 27-24 road win.
For Texas, the loss lands hard. The Longhorns have now dropped back-to-back games to unranked opponents, making them the first AP No. 1 to do that in 2026. At 4-2, the margin for error is suddenly razor-thin if Texas wants to stay in the College Football Playoff conversation.
There’s also the concern around Colin Simmons, who left in the fourth quarter with an apparent leg injury and did not return after heading to the locker room on a cart. Simmons leads the nation with 10.5 sacks, and without him the Texas pass rush loses a major edge.
That puts even more pressure on Manning and the offense. Saturday was another uneven performance from the quarterback: jaw-dropping throws mixed with costly mistakes, including the fumble that ended Texas’ comeback hopes.
For Steve Sarkisian, the result adds to a season that has already started drifting in the wrong direction. Texas has clearly raised its floor during his tenure, but with the investment around the program, the standard is still championships - and that hasn’t happened yet.
Florida leaves Austin with something it badly needed. After back-to-back losses pushed the Gators out of the polls and Aaron Philo’s injury made the situation look even worse, Jon Sumrall’s team is back at 5-2 and in the mix for a second-half run in the SEC.
The Gators’ defense, which came into the game ranked worst in the SEC, made enough plays to force a pair of turnovers and support their young quarterback. And Jones’ showing gives Florida a little more confidence moving forward, whether he’s the one under center or Philo returns.
Maybe more important, the performance raised a real question about the future: if Jones keeps playing like this, Florida may have found more than a backup plan.
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 🡒]