Even after beating Texas, the Florida Gators are currently sitting as 7.5 point underdogs to Texas A&M this week. As we have pointed out a few times, Florida is 1-10 as a road underdog in the Billy Napier Era, with the one win being in College Station.
So if Florida is going to prove the Texas game wasn't a fluke and is going to turn the ship around, these three players need another huge game to give the Gators a chance.
Dallas Wilson
Starting with the most obvious difference from last weekend, Dallas Wilson just made the offense for Florida feel different. There is a whole critique of Billy Napier that his offense only works if he has superior talent, but that's a conversation for a different piece.
The point is Wilson has zero chance of sneaking up on A&M like he did with Texas, but for Florida to have a shot they are going to need another 100+ yard performance from the five-star freshman.
Brien Taylor Jr.
We expressed all offseason our concerns about the depth along the defensive line, especially along the interior of the line. Outside of Caleb Banks, there was no one else proven on the unit entering the season.
Now that Banks is out, along with other injuries, it was Brien Taylor Jr. getting 24 snaps against Texas and looking the most dominant he has all season.
Taylor Jr. was credited with five total QB pressures and part of what people have realized after watching the film is that Arch Manning wasn't "that" bad, but that Florida just lived in the backfield.
Taylor Jr. will need another big game to contain Marcel Reed this Saturday.
Damieon George Jr.
The offensive line as a whole was one of the massive disappointments for Florida during their first four weeks of the season. The Gators were near the bottom of the country for tackles for a loss allowed, which could only be described as a failure since their returned 4/5ths of their starters from 2024.
Damieon George Jr. has been among the players struggling, but he had a solid performance outside against what was supposed to be a vaunted Texas defensive line.
George Jr. allowed zero pressures, and Jadan Baugh averaged 5.1 yards per carry running "middle right," the gap George Jr would be responsible for.