ESPN’s latest bowl projections have the Florida Gators playing in two different December games. Kyle Bonagura has the Orange and Blue playing in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl in Memphis, Tennessee on Wednesday, Dec. 28 against Texas Tech. Mark Schlabach has the Gators playing in the TaxSlayer Gators Bowl in Jacksonville, Florida on Friday, Dec. 30 against Notre Dame.
Both Texas Tech and Notre Dame join Florida in having a first-year head coach. Joey McGuire has the Red Raiders at 3-2 with OT wins against in-state rivals Houston and Texas. McGuire’s experience as a high school football coach in the state is leading many to believe that he will have success in Lubbock in the long term.
Marcus Freeman, however, has not had as good of a first season as McGuire. He was promoted from defensive coordinator to head coach after Brian Kelly left for LSU last season. Freeman served as head coach in the team’s Fiesta Bowl loss to Oklahoma State last season. He 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.
Their next game is Saturday against a Missouri team that gave Georgia their toughest challenge to date. The game will serve as Homecoming for the Gators, with kickoff scheduled for noon EDT. The game will be broadcast on ESPNU.
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