In 2021, Florida barely qualified for a bowl game and wound up losing to UCF, 29-17, in the Gasparilla Bowl. If ESPN’s preseason predictions are close to accurate, the Gators will once again find themselves in a minor bowl game as the team looks to rebuild under Billy Napier.
ESPN had two experts make the projections, Kyle Bonagura and Mark Schlabach, so Florida has two placements on this list. Bonagura has the Gators facing off with the Miami Hurricanes at TIAA Bank Stadium in Jacksonville on Dec. 29 for the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl. It’s close to home and would be an in-state battle similar to last season’s finale against the Knights, except Florida won’t be in lame-duck mode with Napier looking to close things out strong in year one.
Schlabach projects Florida to play against Kansas State in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl on Dec. 28 in Memphis, Tennessee. That’s a lot further from the Swamp than Jacksonville, and there’s not much of a rivalry going on with Kansas State at the moment. A close game and the transfer of Keyontae Johnson is the proper kindling needed to start that fire, though.
A clash between Florida and Miami seems like the better option for everyone involved, but Napier and Co. are hoping to shock everyone and land a New Year’s Six bid. That might not be possible given the strength of the two giants atop the SEC right now, but it’s the goal.
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