After one of the most exciting starts for Florida football in years, the tide turned for the Gators against Missouri and South Carolina. Now with two straight Southeastern Conference losses under its belt, UF embarks on its toughest stretch of the season. And it starts with the No. 7 Texas Longhorns.
Ahead of its Saturday matchup against No. 7 Texas (4-1), Florida (4-2) might be without its starting quarterback, Aaron Philo.
The Alligator’s Florida football beat reporters, Ava DiCecca, Max Bernstein, Curan Ahern and Riley Orovitz, are back to make picks for the Week 7 eight-game SEC slate. Each reporter earns a point for a correct pick and three bonus points if they predict the score accurately.
Florida scored at least 44 points in each of its first four games. But since the Gators’ 4-0 start, they’ve totaled just 36 points and lost twice. The defense hasn’t looked the part of a contender either. The Gators have allowed more than 37 points per game on average against SEC competition, and their inability to get off the field on third down has led to back-to-back multi-score losses.
Bailey was named the SEC Offensive Player of the Week for her late-game heroics, the conference announced Monday afternoon. The redshirt senior became the third Gator to receive conference weekly honors this season.
After two consecutive losses in Southeastern Conference play, Florida football has plenty of kinks to work out before it takes on the No. 7 Texas Longhorns. But ahead of one of the Gators’ toughest matchups of the season, head coach Jon Sumrall is just as focused on the team’s mentality as he is on the product on the field.
In its fifth Southeastern Conference matchup of the season, No. 5 Florida took on Vanderbilt in what was a seemingly manageable matchup. But rather than handling business on the road, the Gators left Nashville with their first SEC loss.
With the Jaguars off to a 4-1 start, here are three takeaways from their stunning comeback win over the Eagles.
Having an impact off the bench in Florida’s 2025-26 season, Urban Klavžar and Isaiah Brown could have transferred to another school, increasing their chances of starting and making a name for themselves. Instead, they stayed with Florida, even as the Gators brought back four of last year's five starters. As a result, both players enter the 2026-27 season coming off the bench, giving Florida head coach Todd Golden consistency in his eight-man rotation, with one spot still open.
In a hard-fought battle, the No. 5 Gators (13-2, 4-1 SEC) ultimately fell to Vanderbilt 3-1 (13-2, 4-2 SEC) on Sunday for their second loss of the season.
Behind a 57-yard game-winning field goal, the Jaguars (4-1) took down the Eagles (2-3) 19-17 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday. It was the second week in a row Philadelphia allowed a fourth-quarter comeback.
Looking to rebound from a 45-17 blowout loss to Missouri, Florida returned to The Swamp to face a struggling South Carolina squad. But rather than responding and keeping the Gamecocks winless in SEC play, the Gators allowed South Carolina to score on five consecutive drives and tally nearly 400 yards of total offense.
Florida found the end zone just twice in the 38-19 loss, its second-lowest point total of the season, as the offense struggled to execute any long-yardage plays and consistently test South Carolina’s defense. Here’s a position-by-position breakdown of what went wrong for the Gators’ offense.
Florida fell flat Saturday. It allowed 393 total yards and found the end zone just once in a 38-19 loss to South Carolina (3-3, 1-3 SEC) at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
Against a hungry South Carolina searching for its first Southeastern Conference win, Florida couldn’t afford to fizzle out. The No. 16 Gators (4-2, 2-2 SEC) fell to the Gamecocks (3-3, 1-3) 38-19 at home Saturday afternoon.
Solutions by The State News
