Florida Gators Bowl Projections: Predicting the Gators' bowl situation
For the Florida Gators, the good news is that they have a bowl situation to consider. Seemingly doomed by a poor start and a competitive schedule, the Gators pulled off a mid-season resurrection to save both their season and the job of head coach Billy Napier. But here they are. No playoff for the Gators, but still a bowl game to look forward to.
After a 1-2 start that included multi-touchdown losses to Miami and Texas A&M, not many would have bet on the Gators. Florida reached November at 4-3, where conventional wisdom was that an awful final month of the schedule would sink them. Sure enough, Florida lost to Georgia and Texas to fall to 4-5. But then, they bested LSU and Ole Miss in consecutive weeks to save the season. They also registered an easy seventh win against Florida State.
What bowl will the Florida Gators play in?
Perhaps the most likely answer is the ReliaQuest Bowl. In the SEC, after the playoff teams are selected, the Citrus Bowl takes the top team that doesn't make the field. This year, that could be Ole Miss or Alabama or South Carolina, but it won't be Florida.
But the good news for the Gators is that after the Citrus Bowl, the next group of bowl games have no clear pecking order and are in fact set with the assistance of the SEC offices. That's a group that the Gators probably do fit into.
The ReliaQuest Bowl pops up time and again, notably in projections from Action Network and College Football News. The likely matchup there would be Michigan. Those two teams have played each other in four previous bowl matchups in the 21st century. Michigan leads those matchups 3-1. But those two programs would certainly bring real interest to Tampa on December 31st.
Another possible destination is the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville. As the annual home of the Georgia matchup, it's certainly a spot Florida fans know well. The Athletic projects Florida in that game against ACC foes Duke. The Blue Devils had a 9-3 season but against weak competition. They won six of their games by a single score.
Finally, CBS Sports projects the Gators to a more exotic locale, which is plausible given how many bowl games are played in Florida. Jerry Palm at CBS forecasts Florida to the Las Vegas Bowl on December 27th. He has the Gators matched up with Pac-12's Washington State, which could be a pass-heavy bowl appearance should it occur.
Which Florida bowl scenario do you think is most likely? Share your reaction to the various predictions below in our comments section!