Florida is back in the AP Top 25, and the Gators didn’t ease their way in. They blasted through a tough road environment at No.
7 Texas, turned a 10.5-point underdog label into fuel, and came home with a 27-24 win that pushed them to No. 20.
It was the kind of victory that changes the mood around a team fast. Florida erased deficits of 10-0 and 17-3, leaned on first-time starting quarterback Tramell Jones Jr., and got a defense that looked rejuvenated at the perfect time. The Gators hit Arch Manning five times, never let Texas settle in, and limited the Longhorns to 272 yards.
The win snapped Florida back into the rankings a week after it had fallen out following a homecoming loss to South Carolina.
Florida is now 5-2 overall and 3-2 in the SEC, and the path to this spot has been anything but smooth. The Gators reached No. 8 after a 52-28 rout of Ole Miss on Sept. 26 in the Swamp, their highest ranking since the 2020 season. Then came a 45-17 loss at Missouri that sent them tumbling to No. 16, followed by a 38-19 defeat to South Carolina, a result that ended the Gamecocks’ eight-game SEC losing streak.
Saturday’s response was different. It gave Florida its first road win against a top-10 team since 2012 at Florida State, and it also gave Jones a little slice of program history. He became the first Gators quarterback to earn his first win on the road since Jesse Palmer in 1997 at Auburn.
Now comes the reset. Florida enters a bye week after playing seven straight games, then turns to an Oct. 31 showdown in Atlanta with No.
5 Georgia. The Bulldogs are 6-1 and 4-1 after falling 27-24 at Auburn on Saturday, a loss that dropped them from No.
In this week’s AP Top 25, Florida checks in one spot behind No. 19 Texas and two places ahead of No. 22 Missouri.
“I love the bye week because you get to take a deep dive into where are we playing well, where are we not?,” Sumrall said. “Who deserves more opportunities?
Who may deserve less? We evaluate everything that’s going right and wrong, and I expect everybody take ownership of it so we can move forward through the rest of the year.”
In Other News...
Charleston Battery Just Changed Their Playoff Outlook In A Big Way
The Charleston Battery tightened their grip on the USL Championship East with a 2-1 comeback win over Miami FC, a result that not only erased a first-half deficit but also locked in a top-four finish in the Eastern Conference. After going down 1-0, Charleston answered in the second half through Colton Swan and Miguel Berry, turning a tense afternoon into a statement result that improves their playoff position at exactly the right time.
Now sitting second in the conference, Charleston has positioned itself for home-field advantage in the opening round of the playoffs, with one regular-season match still to come at home against Indy Eleven. For a club that has spent the season building toward a strong postseason run, the standings update matters almost as much as the comeback itself. [Read more 🡒]
South Carolina Top 25 Shake Up Region Races In Stretch Run
Several of South Carolinas top high school football programs have turned the final stretch of the regular season into a sprint to the finish, with region championships already secured by teams like Dutch Fork and James Island and several others still in striking distance. With two weeks left, the standings are tightening in a way that should make the closing games feel bigger than usual, especially for programs ranked near the top of the state polls.
Northwestern is among the teams still in the hunt, and the race is getting more interesting thanks to a busy week of notable results around the state. Fort Mills upset of Rock Hill and Hartsvilles win over Loris both helped reshape the conversation in their regions, adding another layer of urgency as contenders try to finish strong and avoid a stumble before the postseason picture comes into focus. [Read more 🡒]
Wake Forest Already Has One Big Offensive Concern Before The Season
Wake Forests early exhibition work has already offered a mixed preview, and South Carolina got a front-row look at the parts that still need smoothing out. The Demon Deacons have dropped both of their tune-up games, falling to Georgetown and then to the Gamecocks, even as freshman brothers Gavin and Gallagher Placide flashed the kind of scoring pop that can give a new-look roster some life.
The bigger concern has been the offense around them, which has been uneven from the perimeter and inconsistent from several other spots in the rotation. With one more closed-door scrimmage left before the regular season starts, Wake Forest still has a chance to sort through those issues, but the early signs point to a team that needs more reliable shooting and steadier contributions if it wants to avoid a rocky opening stretch. [Read more 🡒]