While some outlets have kept bowl projections rolling from the preseason onward, others — such as The Athletic — opted to wait and update their projections until the halfway point of the college football season.
The Florida Gators are 5-2 through seven games, including an upset against Tennessee. That’s moved them into the bowl conversation, according to The Athletic’s experts — staff writer Scott Doctherman and editor-in-chief Stewart Mandel.
Florida is now projected to play in the Gator Bowl (how original) against Clemson, which sounds like a New Year’s Six matchup from three to five years ago. The Tigers have been shaky this year, but it would still be a strong win for the Gators in Year 2 under Billy Napier should they come out victorious in this hypothetical matchup.
Speaking of Napier, he coached under Dabo Swinney at Clemson before being fired. There’s a nice revenge game narrative there if you look hard enough.
Of course, all of these projections typically assume Florida losing to Georgia, Florida State, LSU and perhaps even Missouri. Upsetting one of those teams could drastically shake up the postseason picture.
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