ESPN projects Gators to play in this bowl after Week 4 loss to Tennessee

The Gators are projected to play this historic program in ESPN’s latest bowl projections.

According to ESPN, the Florida Gators have been projected to take on the Texas Longhorns in the Birmingham Bowl.

Currently, the Birmingham Bowl is slated to take place on Dec. 27 in Birmingham, Alabama. ESPN’s projection comes after both teams suffered conference losses on the road. Texas fell to Texas Tech 37-34 in overtime while the Gators fell to Tennessee 38-33 in a game that was not as close as the scoreline indicates.

Texas is going through some injury troubles at the quarterback position. High-profile transfer Quinn Ewers injured his shoulder in the Longhorn’s 20-19 loss to Alabama a few weeks ago. Despite suiting up the past two weeks, Ewers has not played a snap since suffering the injury. The earliest he has been projected to return is in the Red River Rivalry game against longtime rival Oklahoma on Oct. 8.

The Gators have the bulk of their SEC schedule coming up, with six of their last eight games against conference foes. While playing in Atlanta for the SEC championship might not be realistic this season, it’s still possible for the Gators to improve their standings and bowl projection, given their tough conference schedule.

The Gators will be hosting Eastern Washington on Sunday. The game is expected to kick off at 12 p.m. EDT and will be broadcast on SECN+/ESPN+ and can be heard on the Gators Radio Network.

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