Gators Get Bump in Latest Bowl Projections after Beating No. 7 Texas

The Florida Gators are on the way up, but they're not there yet, and head coach Jon Sumrall knows it.

Florida Gators running back Jadan Baugh had 104 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown in the win over the Texas Longhorns. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

After consecutive losses, the Florida Gators found themselves falling down the bowl pecking order last week, but after going on the road and beating the No. 7 Texas Longhorns, the needle is moving in the right direction again.

Last week, ESPN's Kyle Bonagura and Mark Schlabach had the Gators in the Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl on December 18th and AutoZone Liberty Bowl in Memphis, Tenn. against Baylor on January 2nd, respectively.

While they're not ready to move Florida into College Football Playoff territory, the Gators certainly upgraded their post-season destination according to their predictions.

Both of them have the Gators staying close to home, with Bonagura placing Florida against Pittsburgh in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl in Jacksonville on December 30th.

Schlabach also keeps the Gators close, with Florida facing Nebraska on December 31st in the ReliaQuest Bowl at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa.

While an updated bowl invitation is nice, the Gators have their eyes set on a bigger prize. A week ago, a College Football Playoff invitation seemed far-fetched, but a big challenge presented a big opportunity.

And the Gators seized it in Texas.

They have another one coming up after their bye week when they take on the No. 5 Georgia Bulldogs on Halloween. Georgia was also upset over the weekend, but get in line: five of the top seven teams took a loss last weekend, opening up more opportunities for two-loss teams like Florida.

The Gators moved back into the Top 25 to No. 20 this week after beating Texas, and another win over Georgia would erase any doubts that the win in Austin was less about the Longhorns' futility than it was about Florida's excellence.

With Georgia and No. 12 Kentucky still on the table, a 10-2 Florida Gators team would be tough to keep out of the College Football Playoff.

That said, head coach Jon Sumrall knows not to get too far over his skis. It was a good win against Texas, but it was still just one win.

“We got better today," Sumrall said after the game. 'It does nothing (for tomorrow). If we've learned anything about this, in this game or in life, you don't get to go, 'Hey, I was good last week, so I get to be good next week,' right?"

The memory of a Florida Gators team going to Missouri full of swagger is still fresh on Sumrall's mind.

"I guess part of why we got our ass kicked in Missouri and last week at home is because we, everybody around Gainesville was patting our guys on the back telling them how good they were, and I'm like, 'Guys, we suck. Like I've watched this practice; we're not very good.' We still suck. We
just suck less, all right. And so we have to figure out to suck less each week."

If the Gators can build on their win in Texas and suck even less against Georgia, Florida could look like a strong bet for the College Football Playoff.