Florida’s Week 7 win at Texas did more than stop a two-game slide. It pushed the Gators back into a much healthier spot in the bowl picture, and USA TODAY Sports now has them headed back to familiar ground.
In Erick Smith’s latest Week 7 bowl projection, Florida is again slotted into the Gator Bowl. The matchup changed this time, though: instead of Maryland, Smith has the Gators facing Wake Forest.
That projection comes on the heels of Florida’s road upset of the Longhorns, a result that helped restore some momentum in the Orange and Blue. The Gators are now just one win shy of locking up a bowl berth, and their postseason standing is starting to firm up.
The Gator Bowl has been a successful stage for Florida over the years. The program has appeared in the game nine times since 1952 and has won seven of those contests. Florida’s most recent trip came in 2012, when Will Muschamp’s first team beat Ohio State, 24-17.
The last time the Gators lost in the Gator Bowl was back in 1975, when Maryland beat Doug Dickey’s team, 13-0.
Florida and Wake Forest, meanwhile, have barely crossed paths. The schools have met only four times since 1923, and all four wins belong to Florida. Those meetings came in Tampa in 1923, a 16-7 Gators win, and 1924, a 34-0 Florida win, followed by games in Gainesville in 1925, a 24-3 result, and 1957, when Florida rolled 27-0.
In Other News...
Walter Clayton Jr. Just Got Another Real NBA Chance
Walter Clayton Jr. is getting another shot to stick in the NBA, this time with the Dallas Mavericks after being waived by the Memphis Grizzlies. For Florida fans, it is another reminder of how quickly his pro path has moved since he went 18th in the 2025 NBA Draft and started bouncing between opportunities with the Washington Wizards, Utah Jazz and Grizzlies.
Clayton averaged 7.8 points per game in the 2025-26 season, enough to keep him in the conversation as a player worth developing on the margins. Now he is set to compete for minutes with Dallas and its G League affiliate, the Texas Legends, with this next stop giving him another chance to carve out a real role. [Read more 🡒]
Floridas Bye Week Numbers Expose A Problem Fans Cant Ignore
Floridas 5-2 start through seven weeks has kept the Gators in the thick of the conversation, but the bye week also offered a clear look at where this team stands against the rest of the FBS. The Gators have flashed in a few key areas on both sides of the ball, and the broader stat profile shows a roster that has done enough to win games while still leaving plenty of room for debate about how complete this team really is.
The national rankings paint a mixed picture, with some numbers suggesting a group that can hang with almost anyone and others pointing to issues that keep surfacing in the margins. Special teams, turnovers and penalties all help tell the story here, and those hidden categories are often where good teams separate from merely interesting ones. For Florida, the bye week makes the question impossible to avoid: are these numbers the sign of a team built for a second-half push, or a reminder that the Gators still have too many loose ends to clean up? [Read more 🡒]
Kyle Trask And Walter Clayton Jr Just Got Another Shot
Kyle Trask is back on a roster after a brief stop with the Panthers, landing on the Dallas Cowboys practice squad in a move that keeps his pro career alive for at least another stretch. The former Florida quarterback had already spent time with Tampa Bay before getting his latest shot, and the Cowboys are giving him a place to keep working while the rest of the league keeps sorting through depth and injuries.
Walter Clayton Jr. has also found a new opening, signing a two-way contract with the Dallas Mavericks and being activated for a game against Houston. For Florida fans, it is another reminder that a familiar wave of Gators is still showing up across the pro ranks, while Sky Blakely and Dulcy Caylor helped the U.S. finish runner-up at the 2026 Artistic Gymnastics World Championships, giving the program more reason to keep one eye on what comes next. [Read more 🡒]