No. 5 Texas looks to stay in the hunt for a spot in the league championship game and beyond when it returns from an open week to host short-handed Florida on Saturday afternoon in Austin, Texas, in a Southeastern Conference clash.
It’s the first time the programs have met on the gridiron since 1940. Texas has never lost to the Gators, forging a 2-0-1 record in three all-time meetings.
Texas was ranked fifth in the initial College Football Playoff ranking that was revealed Tuesday night. It’s Texas’ highest-ever spot in the initial CFP rankings.
Texas’ best ranking in the College Football Playoff was when it was No. 3 last season heading into the CFP semifinal against Washington. The Longhorns had been selected at No. 7 in the first five CFP rankings prior to climbing to third.
The Longhorns (7-1, 3-1 SEC) head back to the fight after a 27-24 win at then-No. 25 Vanderbilt on Oct. 26. Quinn Ewers passed for 288 yards and three scores in the win and the Texas defense held Vanderbilt to 269 total yards and forced three turnovers. Despite those efforts, Texas had to recover an onside kick late in the game to secure the victory.
Ewers leads the Longhorns in passing, amassing 1,389 yards and 14 TDs through the air despite missing almost three games with an abdominal strain. His six interceptions and occasional indecisiveness in the pocket have been problematic but Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said he liked his signal-caller’s work over the past two weeks.
“Quinn had a good week,” Sarkisian said. “He looks fresh, he looks healthy. He’s really delivering the ball well. I like his base that he’s operating with. I thought he was really intentional with his feet with his base against Vanderbilt.”
The Gators (4-4, 2-3) travel to Austin after a 34-20 loss to No. 3 Georgia in Jacksonville, Fla., on Nov. 2 in what might have been Florida’s best defensive game of the year. Freshman quarterback DJ Lagway left the game in the second quarter with a pulled hamstring; his replacement, Aidan Warner, completed just 7 of 22 passes for 66 yards and an interception.
Ja’Kobi Jackson led the Gators with 12 carries for 74 yards and a score. The offense struggled after Lagway went out and finished with just 228 total yards.
Florida, which has dropped two of its past three games, played against Georgia without its best players at four positions — quarterback Graham Mertz (torn ACL), cornerback Jason Marshall (shoulder), wideout Eugene Wilson III (knee) and running back Montrell Johnson (knee). The Gators lost cornerback Devin Moore, who intercepted a pass in the second quarter, to a knee injury.
“It’s next man up,” Florida coach Billy Napier said. “I mean we proved that Saturday (against Georgia), and I think this presents an opportunity for some of these guys that haven’t maybe got to play as much as they would like. Ultimately, you’ve got to view it that way.”
Napier has not ruled out Lagway for the Texas game, but Warner — a transfer from Yale — is expected to start behind center. Texas is not sure who will be at quarterback for the Gators, prompting Sarkisian to say his team will prepare for Florida’s scheme rather than individual players.
“They’ve got a very intricate scheme, a lot of shifts, a lot of motions, a lot of formation adjustments that they tax you with,” Sarkisian explained.
