Floridas Best Win Could Look Even Bigger This Weekend

Rece Davis ranks Ole Miss among the SEC's elite, spotlighting their pivotal upcoming clash with a reeling Texas team.

Ole Miss keeps stacking up reasons to be taken seriously, and now the Rebels are walking into one of the biggest tests left on their schedule.

At 5-1 and ranked No. 7, Ole Miss has spent the 2026 season in the national spotlight, with its only loss coming against No.

20 Florida. The latest statement was a 31-3 rout of then-No.

13 Missouri, and that win helped set up another ranked matchup this Saturday, when the Rebels travel to face No. 19 Texas.

The case for Ole Miss got another boost from Rece Davis, who said on The Pat McAfee Show that the Rebels belong near the top of the SEC conversation.

“I think you still look at Ole Miss as a contender, and based on the way things are unfolding in the SEC, I think you can make a pretty good argument that they’re probably the second-best team in the SEC behind Georgia at the moment,” Davis said. “But in order to be that and maintain that, they’ll need to play well on Saturday night.”

That’s the next checkpoint for a team with playoff ambitions and two wins over ranked opponents already on its résumé. A road win in Austin would carry serious weight for Ole Miss as it tries to strengthen its College Football Playoff case.

Texas, meanwhile, comes in needing something to turn the tide. The Longhorns have dropped two straight, losing to Oklahoma on Oct. 10 and then falling to Florida last Saturday.

Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET on ABC.

In Other News...

Walter Clayton Jr. Just Hit An NBA Crossroads Florida Fans Will Track

Walter Clayton Jr.s pro path has already taken an unexpected turn after a strong enough showing to land him in the first round and onto an NBA roster. The former Florida guard was drafted by the Utah Jazz, then moved to the Memphis Grizzlies in a trade, giving Gators fans another name to track as he tried to carve out a place in the league.

Claytons latest stop ended abruptly when Memphis waived him as the team trimmed down to the 15-player limit. Even so, the door does not appear closed, with reported interest from other NBA teams ahead of the upcoming season, leaving his next move very much in play and keeping Florida supporters watching closely. [Read more 🡒]

Florida Bye Week Could Force A Bigger Role For Underused Gators

Florida heads into the bye week at 5-2, and one of the quieter storylines around the program is how little the depth chart has changed since opening week. For a team still sorting out the best way to maximize its roster, that stability has also left a few intriguing pieces on the margins, waiting for a bigger chance to matter.

Ty Jackson, Caden Jones and Lagonza Hayward are three names that stand out as candidates for more work coming out of the break, each for different reasons tied to recent play and what Florida needs going forward. The bye gives the staff a natural reset, and it may also force a closer look at which underused Gators deserve more snaps when the season resumes. [Read more 🡒]

Florida Just Forced A Very Different Season Conversation

Floridas win in Austin changed the tone around the Gators in a hurry. Beating Texas 27-24 at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium gave Florida its first victory in Austin and its first road win over a top-10 team in nearly 15 years, a result that carries a lot more weight than just one upset in September.

The follow-up came just as quickly in the rankings, with CBS Sports moving Florida up 10 spots to No. 24 in its updated college football poll. It also put the SEC in familiar territory, with 10 league teams now sitting in the top 25, but for Florida the more important shift is the conversation this win has started about where the Gators fit in now. [Read more 🡒]