Florida’s latest bowl projection is starting to look familiar, and it comes with an in-state twist.
After the Gators’ 2026 Week 7 win over Texas, The Athletic’s Scott Dochterman updated his postseason predictions and slotted Florida into the Gator Bowl against SMU. That comes on the heels of Florida’s biggest comeback win against a ranked SEC opponent in a true road game, a result that also gave the program its first victory over the Longhorns in Austin.
The timing matters too. With the win over Texas, Florida reached its fifth victory of the season and moved to within one win of getting back to postseason play.
If that projection holds, it would set up a matchup with a program Florida has seen plenty of times before, even if the meetings have been spread out over decades. The Gators and Mustangs have split four previous games going back to 1964.
SMU took both neutral-site meetings, winning 35-25 in Orlando in 1978 and 21-14 in Tampa in 1972. Florida handled the Mustangs in Gainesville in 1964, 24-8, and again in 1975, 40-14.
The Gator Bowl itself has been a good stage for Florida over the years. The program has appeared in it nine times since 1952 and has won seven of those games.
Florida’s most recent trip came in 2012, when Will Muschamp’s first team beat Ohio State 24-17. The last Florida loss in the game came way back in 1975, when Maryland blanked Doug Dickey’s squad 13-0.
Dochterman’s projection wasn’t the only one floating Florida toward the Gator Bowl this week. USA TODAY Sports, Sports Illustrated and ESPN also projected the Gators to land there, though with different opponents.
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