Florida football saw its 2025 season flash in front of its eyes this past weekend, when the USF Bulls rolled into Gainesville and stampeded off with an 18-16 victory. It was the Gators’ first-ever loss to South Florida and a rare defeat at the hands of a non-Power Four school.
Billy Napier came into the fall amidst high expectations while also facing arguably the toughest schedule among FBS schools. USF’s surprising start — which includes a season-opening 34-7 win over the then-top-25-ranked Boise State Broncos in Tampa — actually makes the program’s strength of schedule even more daunting.
Nonetheless, the loss ostensibly ended any hopes the Gator Nation had of reaching the College Football Playoff and even imperils Florida’s chances of even playing in December. Napier and Co. have to go 5-5 the rest of the way just to make the final cut, and there is no clear-cut path to those five wins.
However, CBS Sports still sees an angle for the Orange and Blue to play in a bowl game, and projects a matchup with the Nebraska Cornhuskers in the ReliaQuest Bowl. This destination and matchup are not unfamiliar early on this season, as USA TODAY Sports’ Erick Smith had predicted it during the preseason.
Florida’s history in ReliaQuest Bowl, against Nebraska
Originally called the Cigar Bowl from 1947 to 1954, the game was later rebranded as the Hall of Fame Bowl from 1977 to 1985. After that, it became the Outback Bowl from 1995 until 2022, when it adopted its current sponsor.
While the Gators have never played in the ReliQuest Bowl, they have played in six editions of the Outback Bowl, winning four of those games. Florida, however, never competed in any of the previous iterations of the Tampa-based bowl game.
Meanwhile, UF has faced Nebraska twice in the postseason, losing both times, including a demoralizing 62-24 defeat in the Fiesta Bowl for the 1995 national title.
Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, as well as Bluesky, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.
This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: CBS Sports still sees a bowl game in Florida football’s future after Week 2 loss to USF
Reporting by Adam Dubbin, Gators Wire / Gators Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
