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Florida football: What would a SEC-BIG 12 challenge look like on the football field?

By Will Thomas

GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA - NOVEMBER 13: A detail view of the Florida Gators logo before the start of a game between the Florida Gators and the Samford Bulldogs at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on November 13, 2021 in Gainesville, Florida. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)
GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA - NOVEMBER 13: A detail view of the Florida Gators logo before the start of a game between the Florida Gators and the Samford Bulldogs at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on November 13, 2021 in Gainesville, Florida. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images) /
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Florida basketball heads to Manhattan to take on Kansas State in the SEC-BIG 12 challenge tomorrow afternoon. This got us thinking, what if Florida football got to play a game like this every year too?

These types of conference showdowns only really happen in basketball because the logistics are a lot easier. But we all know this would be must-watch TV between the hashes every fall.

Hopefully, the Gators wouldn’t have to go on the road to play the #5 football team in the country. But if they matched teams up by seeding within the conference, we could have a lot of fun.

The Gators were the 10 seed in the SEC this season (yikes). This works out pretty well, given that the BIG 12 only has ten teams.

This would pit the Gators against the Iowa State Cyclones. ISU went 4-8 last season, with a 1-8 conference record. Their only conference win was against West Virginia, but six of their eight conference losses were one-score games, and three of them were within a field goal or less.

Ever since Brock Purdy and Brecee Hall left the Cyclones, they haven’t been very good. Their QB, Hunter Dekkers, did throw for 3,000 yards. But they’re leading rusher only had 445 yards on the season, and they only scored 20 points per game.

Florida had their own struggles, but this seems like a game they’d be able to win. To Iowa State’s credit, they had the 14th-best run defense in the country. But they weren’t stopping Anthony Richardson, Trevor Etienne, and Montrell Johnson every snap.

For our sake, let’s say the Gators get to play this game at home. You can’t tell me a team that only scored 11 points at Kansas would walk into The Swamp and get a win.

Here’s what the rest of the matchups would be by seed in an SEC-BIG 12 challenge:

Georgia vs TCU (We know how this goes)

LSU vs Kansas State

Alabama vs Texas

Tennessee vs Texas Tech

Mississippi State vs Oklahoma State

South Carolina vs Baylor

Ole Miss vs Kansas

Arkansas vs Oklahoma

Kentucky vs West Virginia

Florida vs Iowa State

An SEC-BIG 12 challenge would be a really cool addition to the college football season. It would give the players a chance to travel to places they may have never been and would help schools recruit areas far away from their home turf.

Keep up with Florida football at Hail Florida Hail.

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