Following a 4-0 start and back-to-back losses in conference play, Florida football desperately needed a win to avoid an 0-3 skid in October.
Even with quarterback Aaron Philo sidelined with a shoulder injury, the Gators triumphed, roaring back from down 17-3 in a 3-point win over the Longhorns.
Florida (5-2, 3-2 SEC) ultimately downed No. 7 Texas (4-2, 1-2 SEC) 27-24 in quarterback Tramell Jones Jr.’s first start as a Gator.
When a young quarterback gets their first career start against a top-10 team on the road, the results typically aren’t pretty. Instead, Jones threw for 71 yards and a touchdown on 10-of-17 passing in the first half and finished with 155 yards and two touchdowns on 22-of-35 passing against the Longhorns. Entering Week 7, Jones had completed 23 of 29 passes for 252 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions, and he led Florida on five scoring drives in the win.
It was reminiscent of last October, when an unranked Gators squad upset No. 9 Texas 29-21 in The Swamp. In 2025, Dallas Wilson made his first career start, catching six passes for 111 yards and two touchdowns, while Jadan Baugh rushed for 107 yards and a score.
On Saturday, it was Jones who had a career day against the Longhorns in his first career start, and Baugh was efficient as well. Despite a slow start for the junior running back — he had just 34 yards on 12 carries in the first half — Baugh finished with 91 yards and a fourth-quarter touchdown en route to victory.
Wilson had a much more modest stat line than in last year’s win over Texas, catching three passes for 27 yards. Still, his presence on the outside opened up the passing game for Eric Singleton Jr., who caught seven passes for 42 yards. Tight end Lacota Dippre also grabbed two touchdowns in the comeback win.
Texas quarterback Arch Manning entered Saturday with an 11-0 record as a starter at Darrel K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium, but multiple late-game stops and five sacks from Florida’s defense rendered him ineffective in the second half.
Texas started strong, however. Manning kicked off the Longhorns’ scoring with a 7-play, 75-yard touchdown drive capped by a 32-yard Raleek Brown touchdown run, and Texas’ defense stood tall early. It forced Florida into a three-and-out, and the Longhorns tacked on a 38-yard field goal to quickly jump out to a 10-0 lead.
The Gators had just 43 yards of total offense in the first quarter and 40 yards worth of penalties. A 45-yard field goal by Patrick Durkin pulled UF within seven at the start of the second quarter, 10-3, but Florida couldn't capitalize on back-to-back punts by Texas.
Jones underthrew an open Eric Singleton Jr. on a deep post on first down, and he missed a wide-open Wilson on third-and-11.
The ensuing punt was nearly a game-breaker as Texas’ Ryan Niblett took a 63-yard return to the house, pushing the Longhorns ahead 17-3.
However, Florida dominated the middle 8, adding 14 unanswered points with touchdowns right before and after halftime.
Bryce Thornton nearly had an interception before the half, but the ball popped out on the way to the ground. Manning completed a 15-yard pass on third-and-16, but UF linebacker Ty Jackson broke into the backfield on fourth-and-1 to force a turnover on downs and give the Gators better field position than the interception would have provided.
With just over two minutes until halftime, Florida strung together a 9-play, 42-yard touchdown drive headlined by a 17-yard catch by Wilson on fourth-and-12 and a 7-yard touchdown catch by Dippre.
Despite going 0 for 7 on third down in the first half, the Gators cut Texas’ lead to 17-10, and Florida received the ball out of halftime. The Gators capitalized in the middle 8, converting five consecutive third downs and finding the end zone.
Jones captained a 15-play, 69-yard touchdown drive and found Dippre for another score, this time from 8 yards out.
After tying the game 17-17, Florida’s defense forced back-to-back three-and-outs. The Gators drove down to Texas’ 10-yard line, but their offense fizzled out. Durkin still nailed the 28-yard field goal, giving Florida its first lead of the game, 20-17.
The Gators defense looked like a completely different unit than in weeks prior, standing tall and forcing a turnover on fourth down at Texas’ 45-yard line in the fourth quarter. Brendan Bett came away with multiple big-time tackles, allowing Florida to extend its lead to 27-17 with an 11-yard Baugh touchdown run.
Explosive downfield passes continued to plague Florida, though, and Manning found Emmett Mosley for a 62-yard completion on fourth-and-7. That set the stage for a 9-yard Cam Coleman touchdown reception, and after a Florida three-and-out, the Longhorns were poised for a late-game comeback, trailing 27-24.
Instead, Myles Graham came away with a huge strip sack of Manning, and Kanye Clark recovered the ball with under two minutes to play. Jones continued making plays with his legs, ultimately converting a third-and-7 that sealed the win for Florida. Jones finished with 10 carries for 41 yards in his first collegiate win as a starter.
Following its Week 8 bye, Florida will head to Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta to take on No. 1 Georgia on Oct. 31 at 3:30 p.m.
Contact Curan Ahern at cahern@alligator.org. Follow him on X at @CuranAhern.
Curan is a senior sports journalism student in his sixth semester at The Alligator. He is currently a sports editor and football beat reporter for the Gators and the Jaguars. He previously served as a men's tennis and sports enterprise reporter, and he is pursuing a public relations minor.
