With a third loss under their belt and a fourth likely coming next weekend to No. 1 Georgia, the Gators’ streak of three-straight New Year’s Six appearances is almost certainly coming to an end.
But if the bowl projections after Week 8 from CBS Sports’ Jerry Palm are right, UF won’t even be able to find its way into one of the premier non-NY6 bowl games after the season. Palm predicts Georgia, Oklahoma, Ohio State and Cincinnati in the College Football Playoff with Alabama and Kentucky representing the SEC in the New Year’s Six.
Florida, meanwhile, is projected to play its second game of the season at TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville, as Palm predicts that it will play against Boston College in the Gator Bowl.
The Gators have made nine appearances in the bowl game that shares their name, but many of those appearances came earlier in the program’s history. Since 1992, UF has only played in the Gator Bowl once, when it beat Ohio State after the 2011 season.
This would be a disappointing conclusion to a season that began with playoff aspirations, and it wouldn’t do much to take the mounting pressure off Mullen. But it may be the best the team can hope for at this point.
Related
Florida sees slight change in USA TODAY re-rank after the bye
Latest AP Top 25 even more bearish on the Gators than coaches poll
ESPN’s Football Power Index inexplicably loves the Gators despite 4-3 record
Gators still on the outside of the USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll looking in
Are the Gators still the best team in Florida?
List
Should Dan Mullen be on the hot seat? Gators Wire staff debates the head coach situation
Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.