CBS Sports has Gators playing historic program in latest bowl projections

CBS Sports has the Florida Gators playing a traditional college football program in their latest bowl projections after Week 5 of the college football season.

CBS Sports’ Jerry Palm has released his latest bowl projections. He has the Gators playing in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, Florida on Friday, Dec. 30 against Notre Dame.

Notre Dame shares one big similarity with the Florida Gators. Marcus Freeman is in his first year as head coach of the Irish, just like Billy Napier is in his first year as head coach for the Gators. Freeman was promoted from defensive coordinator to head coach after Brian Kelly left for LSU last season.

He served as head coach in the team’s Fiesta Bowl loss to Oklahoma State last season, then started the 2022 season 0-2 after losses against Ohio State and Marshall. The Irish are now 2-2 on the season and have games scheduled against BYU, Syracuse, Clemson, and USC still to come.

The Gators are about to enter the toughest stretch of games, with LSU, Georgia, and Texas A&M coming up in a four-week stretch. They have a bye week between the LSU and Georgia games. They also end the regular season against a resurging Florida State team in a special Black Friday edition of the Sunshine State Showdown.

The Irish will play BYU in Las Vegas on Saturday night in a primetime matchup on NBC. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. EDT. The Gators will take on Missouri this Saturday in Florida’s homecoming game. Kickoff is scheduled for noon. EDT. The game will be broadcast on ESPNU.

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