Florida’s football weekend delivered a little bit of everything: a new No. 1 in Miami, a polished homecoming win for USF, and the Gators leaving Austin with the kind of upset that changes the conversation fast.
The headline belongs to Miami, which climbed to the top of the AP Top 25 poll released on October 18, 2026. The Hurricanes are No. 1 in the country for the first time since the end of the 2002 national championship season, and they picked up forty first-place votes to get there.
Their double-overtime win over Florida State on October 17 gave the voters the final push, and it came in a game that had Hard Rock Stadium buzzing from start to finish. Running back Javian Mallory and the Miami offense came through with key plays late, keeping the Hurricanes unbeaten while other top teams around the nation fell.
While Miami was making history, USF handled business at home. The Bulls marked their annual homecoming game at Raymond James Stadium on October 17 with a 29-2 win over Kent State, moving to 5-2 on the season.
Michael Van Buren Jr. kept the offense steady, completing twenty-two of twenty-seven passes and throwing one touchdown. USF took a 10-2 lead into halftime, then let its defense take over from there.
The Bulls shut out Kent State 19-0 over the final two quarters and snapped a brief losing streak in convincing fashion.
The wildest result, though, came out of Austin. Florida went into DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium and knocked off seventh-ranked Texas, 27-24, in a game that turned sharply after the Gators fell behind early.
Freshman quarterback Tramell Jones Jr., making his first career start, stayed composed and delivered two touchdown passes to tight end Lacota Dippre as Florida dug out of a 14-point hole. Jadan Baugh finished the job with an 11-yard rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter that gave Florida the lead for good.
Florida’s defense sealed the upset with pressure that never let up. The Gators sacked Arch Manning five times, and Myles Graham delivered the final blow with a game-clinching strip-sack on Texas’ last drive. The win pushed Florida to 5-2 and sent the Gators back into the newly released AP Top 25 poll.
In Other News...
Florida's Win At Texas Just Changed The Gators' Postseason Outlook
Floridas win at Texas did more than add another quality result to the rsum, it nudged the Gators into a noticeably better position in ESPNs Football Power Index. After the Week 7 victory, Florida climbed six spots to No. 19, and the model now gives the Gators a projected regular-season finish of 7.7-4.3. It also improved their odds across the board, from running the table to reaching the College Football Playoff and even making a run at the conference title.
For a team still trying to turn a big road win into something bigger, that kind of movement matters. FPI rankings do not guarantee anything, but they do reflect how quickly the perception around Florida has shifted after beating Texas, and they help frame what comes next in a crowded postseason picture. The updated top 25 after Week 7 shows the Gators moving in the right direction, with the path forward looking a little clearer than it did a week ago. [Read more 🡒]
London Montgomery Gave Florida The Spark It Desperately Needed
Florida had been searching for a jolt, and London Montgomery helped provide it in a tense 27-24 win over Texas. The senior running back and kick returner gave the Gators more than just steady touches on offense, finishing with four carries for 20 yards while also becoming a factor in the hidden-yardage battle that can swing a game like this.
His five kick returns produced 105 yards, and several of those chances set Florida up with much better field position than it had earlier in the game. For a team trying to find rhythm and keep drives alive, Montgomerys impact was felt in the kind of moments that do not always jump off the box score but can quietly change the direction of a night. [Read more 🡒]
LJ McCray Just Gave Florida The Sign Fans Had Been Waiting For
LJ McCrays showing against Texas gave Florida something it had been waiting to see from one of its young defensive pieces. The Gators leaned into a more aggressive approach on that side of the ball, and McCray answered with four tackles and 1.5 sacks, a performance that doubled his career sack total and helped fuel the upset win.
Jon Sumrall pointed to it as the kind of step forward the staff had been hoping for after a stretch in which McCray had been held back by injury setbacks and uneven production. For Florida, the encouraging part is not just the splash plays from one game, but the possibility that McCray is finally beginning to look like a bigger factor in the defense moving forward. [Read more 🡒]