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Florida football: FBS teams the Gators have played but never beaten

By Will Thomas

September 3, 2011; Gainesville FL, USA; A Florida Gators helmet on the field prior to the game against the Florida Atlantic Owls at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
September 3, 2011; Gainesville FL, USA; A Florida Gators helmet on the field prior to the game against the Florida Atlantic Owls at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /
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Dec 29, 2022; San Antonio, Texas, USA; Washington Huskies quarterback Michael Penix Jr. (9) throws a pass in the 2022 Alamo Bowl against the Texas Longhorns at the Alamodome. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Dunn-USA TODAY Sports /

Florida football has never beaten: Washington Huskies (0-1)

Here we have another instance where Florida’s lone encounter with a team was in a bowl game, and the Gators got bested.

Florida took on the Washington Huskies in the 1989 Freedom Bowl and got run off the field, losing 34-7.

That whole season wasn’t great for Florida. They went 7-5 with a 4-3 record in conference and had a middle-of-the-pack offense despite Emmitt Smith running for just shy of 1,600 yards.

And their lack of explosiveness on offense got exposed in the bowl game when they scored just one touchdown.

Would Florida football beat them today?

The timing of this piece lines up poorly for Florida’s odds in a potential matchup. Washington has found a brand new offense with Michael Penix Jr. at QB and surprised a lot of people with how well they played last season.

Florida’s best chance would be to control the pace of the game on the ground and keep the ball out of Penix’s hands, which I actually wouldn’t hate their odds to do. Etienne and Johnson are the two guys you would want for game control.

But this game feels like a 7-10 point Huskies win, so it’s a good thing we won’t need to face off with them this fall.

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