Florida, a team dealing with a slew of injuries and fresh off dropping back-to-back games, including a loss to a three-loss South Carolina squad at home, just marched into Austin and pulled off a wild 27-24 upset over No. 7 Texas! This is their second top-10 win of the season, and it’s the first time since 2018 the Gators have beaten two Top-10 teams in a single year. Talk about a roller-coaster season!
Tramell Jones Jr. Answers the Call, Big Time
Man, I don’t know what Jon Sumrall is feeding his guys in Gainesville, but this Florida team is absolutely confounding. They rolled into this game against Texas missing their starting running back Noah Clark, starting quarterback Aaron Philo, and even key receivers Vernell Brown III and Bailey Stockton. So, who steps up? Backup QB Tramell Jones Jr., the guy who threw two picks in each of their last two losses. And what did he do? He lit it up! Jones Jr. threw for 155 yards and two touchdowns, plus he added another 41 yards on the ground. Seriously, this dude became the first backup Florida QB to win a road game in his first start since Jesse Palmer did it way back in 1997 against No. 6 Auburn. Talk about stepping up when it matters!
Longhorns Lead Collapses, Manning Sacked Away
The Longhorns actually started this game like they were going to run away with it. They were 11.5-point favorites, after all. Texas put up two scoring drives right away for a 10-0 lead, and then Ryan Niblett took a punt to the house, making it 17-3. Ouch, right? But Jones Jr. didn’t flinch. He led a massive nine-play, 59-yard touchdown drive to cut it to a one-score game by halftime. Then, late in the game, with Florida up, Arch Manning tried to make it interesting. He orchestrated a six-play, 75-yard touchdown drive, including a huge 4th-and-7 bomb, to get it to 27-24 with just over two minutes left. But the Florida defense? Absolutely clutch! After forcing a Texas three-and-out, they got the ball back, then later sealed the deal with a strip-sack fumble on Manning. They held him to just 173 yards and absolutely buried him with five sacks all game. That’s how you close out an upset, folks.
The Wildest Ride in College Football?
This Florida season is truly a roller coaster, man. A few weeks ago, they exploded onto the scene with a dominant 52-38 victory over then-No. 4 Ole Miss at home, launching them into the Top-10. You think, “Okay, this is their year!” Then what? They completely flatline against unranked Missouri, losing 45-17 and only getting 42 rush yards. And it didn’t stop there, they lost to South Carolina! Now, with this win over Texas, they’ve got two Top-10 victories, the first time they’ve done that since 2018, and their second win over Texas in two seasons. Who even knows what’s going on, but it is appointment viewing.
This win completely flips the script on what folks thought was going to be a “slow build” for Jon Sumrall in his first year. With two Top-10 wins already under their belt, this Florida team just proved they can hang with anyone. What’s next for this squad? Seriously, who even knows, but it’s gonna be a wild ride.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by The Sporting News.
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