Florida’s 27-24 upset of No. 7 Texas had a lot of moving parts, but LJ McCray was right in the middle of the biggest ones.
The junior defensive lineman, back after missing the entire 2025 season, turned in the kind of performance that changes a game and gets noticed across the SEC. McCray posted career highs with 1.5 sacks, 1.5 tackles for loss and four total tackles, with three of them solo, as Florida stunned the Longhorns in Austin.
It was the kind of night where every disruptive snap seemed to matter. McCray helped set the tone with a two-yard tackle for loss and then a half-sack that backed Texas up seven more yards, giving Florida a chance to swing momentum and eventually grab a 20-17 lead.
That pressure was a big reason Arch Manning never got comfortable. Florida made the Texas quarterback look far more ordinary than the draft hype suggested, and McCray was a major reason why.
The numbers tell the story even more sharply when you line them up with his recent stretch. McCray had four tackles against Texas, matching the total he had in his previous three games combined. He had already logged his first sack of the year in Florida’s 52-3 win over Campbell, but doing it against a top-10 opponent carried a different kind of weight.
His breakout night brought SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week honors, and it came in a game that ended with Arch Manning’s fumble sealing the win for Florida.
The upset also sent Florida back into the AP Top 25 and kept its playoff path alive. The Gators have two losses, but those defeats came against Missouri and South Carolina, and the remaining schedule suddenly looks very different after wins over Texas and a potential showdown with Georgia.
If Florida can follow the Longhorns win with another against the Bulldogs, the Gators could put themselves right back in the College Football Playoff conversation. Two-loss teams have made the playoff before, and the path would get even louder if Florida can win its four remaining games, including a matchup with No. 12 Kentucky.
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 🡒]
Florida State Just Made A Rivalry Weekend Even More Painful
Floridas upset of seventh-ranked Texas in Austin should have been the brightest SEC headline in the state, especially with freshman quarterback Tramell Jones Jr. making his first career start in a 27-24 win. Instead, rivalry weekend in Florida turned into a reminder of how crowded the spotlight can get when the states other programs are rolling too, with Miami climbing to No. 1 in the AP Top 25 for the first time since 2002 after its double-overtime win over Florida State.
USF added to the same uneasy backdrop by handling Kent State 29-2 on homecoming and moving to 5-2, giving the Bulls another reason to feel good about their season. For the Gators, the bigger-picture sting is obvious: a signature road win should travel well, but when Miami is celebrating a historic ranking and the in-state conversation keeps drifting elsewhere, Floridas upset suddenly feels like one more part of a weekend that was hard to own outright. [Read more 🡒]