The Gators may have squandered any chance at the College Football Playoff with their loss to LSU on Saturday night. Now sitting at two losses, Florida may be lucky to even make a New Year’s Six Bowl if Alabama hands it its third in convincing fashion next week.
But for the time being, CBS Sports’ Jerry Palm thinks Florida will find itself at a premier bowl destination.
He predicts Texas A&M, by virtue of its one loss and head-to-head victory over Florida, will claim the SEC’s bid at the Orange Bowl. But he thinks Florida still sneaks into the New Year’s Six: a Peach Bowl matchup between the Gators and Cincinnati, who is undefeated and favored to win the American Athletic Conference.
Florida has won a New Year’s Six Bowl in each of coach Dan Mullen’s first two seasons, defeating Michigan in the Peach Bowl in 2018 and Virginia in the Orange Bowl last season.
If Palm’s predictions pan out, the Gators would have to take down a Bearcats team that may enter the game without a blemish to extend that streak to three.
His full predictions:
College Football Playoff
| DATE | GAME / LOC. | MATCHUP | PREDICTION |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan. 11 | National Championship Miami |
Title game | Semifinal winners |
| Jan. 1 | Rose Bowl Pasadena, Calif. |
Semifinal | (2) Clemson vs.
(3) Ohio State |
| Jan. 1 | Sugar Bowl New Orleans |
Semifinal | (1) Alabama vs.
(4) Notre Dame |
New Year’s Six bowl games
| DATE | BOWL / LOCATION | MATCHUP | PREDICTION |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan. 2 | Orange Miami |
ACC/ND vs. SEC/Big Ten | North Carolina vs.
Texas A&M |
| Jan. 2 | Fiesta Glendale, Ariz. |
At-large vs. At-large | USC vs.
Indiana |
| Jan. 1 | Peach Atlanta |
At-large vs. At-large | Florida vs.
Cincinnati |
| Dec. 30 | Cotton Arlington, Tex. |
At-large vs. At-large | Oklahoma vs. |
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