Where ESPN sees Florida playing its bowl game after Week 3
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Florida football is off to a 3-0 start to the 2026 campaign, which means Jon Sumrall and Co. need just three more wins to get the Gators back into the postseason after missing out last year and twice in the last three seasons.
With college football's Week 3 action in the books, ESPN writers Kyle Bonagura and Mark Schlabach released their updated bowl game predictions, with both once again agreeing that Sumrall and Co. will play in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl held in EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville on Dec. 30. Not only is this the same projection as the past two weeks, but they also picked the same opposing teams as the previous two updates.
Bonagura still has the Orange and Blue facing Pitt, a school it has faced just once back on Oct. 8, 1977. The two schools battled to a 17-17 tie in Gainesville that day in a season that the Gators would go on to finish with a 6-4-1 record.
Meanwhile, Schlabach remains fixed on Florida facing SMU, a school UF has split its four prior meetings with. The Mustangs won both games played on a neutral field — a 35-25 victory in 1978 (Orlando) and a 21-14 triumph in 1972 (Tampa) — while the Gators prevailed in Gainesville in 1964, 24-8, and 1975, 40-14.
Florida has played in the Gator Bowl nine times dating back to 1952, with seven wins over that span. The last time UF participated in the in-state event was 2012 during Will Muschamp's first season on the sidelines, beating Ohio State, 24-17. The last time Florida lost a Gator Bowl game was 1975, when Maryland snuck by Doug Dickey's squad, 17-13.
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This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Where ESPN sees Florida playing its bowl game after Week 3
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