Florida football scored a huge season-opening win over the favored Utah Utes on Saturday, an upset victory that has started a domino effect on the national rankings. The Gators are coming off a nadir year in 2021 that resulted in a complete turnover of the coaching staff, resulting in an unproven coach taking the helm of the program.
Those two issues were the main reason many were bearish on the Orange and Blue entering the 2022 campaign, with both major polls burying Florida far outside the top 25. However, that 29-26 victory in the Swamp made a strong statement to the national media and they have certainly taken notice since.
With the results from Week 1 now in the books, CBS Sports Jerry Palm took a stab at predicting bowl game matchups for this coming postseason, including the Gators’ destination and opponent. It seems that the team might be playing in the same venue as last season, albeit under a different name and against a different opponent.
Palm has Florida facing the Wisconsin Badgers on January 2, 2023, in the ReliaQuest Bowl held at Raymond James Stadium, down I-75 in Tampa. That particular bowl game, which was formerly called the Outback Bowl from 1996 to 2022, is set up to host either a Big Ten or ACC school against an SEC team.
Last year, the Gators also played in Raymond James Stadium but in a lower-level bowl game: the Gasparilla Bowl. That demoralized squad fell to the Central Florida Knights in what was the saddest de facto state championship game in recent memory cementing a losing record that season.
Hopefully, the Gator Nation is treated to a much better culmination of the schedule in Billy Napier’s first year.
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