Week 0 of the college football season is in the books, and even though Florida didn’t have a game, there was still plenty for Gator fans to check out. These are the three most notable talking points for Gators fans while we wait for Florida to take the field for real next Saturday.
FSU’s struggles gave Florida fans plenty to be happy about
The good and the bad about playing in Week 0 is that you are bound to have a spotlight on you, and in FSU’s case, they probably wish we were watching anything other than them bumbling and stumbling against New Mexico State. Keeping in mind that FSU was a 30.5-point favorite heading into this game, the game was still 17-10 late into the third quarter, and it was still a 10-point game with less than five minutes to play.
Again, this was a 30.5-point spread, and FSU didn’t even get north of 30 points until a touchdown with 3:55 left in the game.
Ashton Daniels was 17-of-27 for 202 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
Given that New Mexico State was 4-8 last year, FSU is set up for another long year. We would have sympathy for Seminole fans, and we know there are genuine FSU fans who have known the whole time that Mike Norvell isn’t the answer in Tallahassee, but this is also the fanbase that threw a pity party and got the government involved after missing the playoffs, only to go out and lose 63-3.
So… y’all are stuck with him.
Marcus Stokes reminds Florida fans why they were once excited for him
If you like redemption arcs, Marcus Stokes is completing one in real time right now. The one-time Gator commit who had his scholarship offer pulled after a controversial video, which we talked about earlier this week, beat out Air Norland for the starting job for Memphis ahead of their opener against UNLV.
And for the most part, Stokes looked good for his first FBS start. He was 15-for-26 for 223 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. Stokes also showed some running ability, running seven times for another 45 yards, including a 16-yard run.
Memphis entered as a 4.5-point underdog, but since Dan Mullen spent more time hanging out with Elvis than he did scheming up a game plan for Jackson Arnold, the Tigers pulled off the 27-21 upset.
Imagine telling someone back in 2023 that Stokes would outduel Arnold head-to-head in 2026?
Florida fans find USC’s attendance excuses comical
USC, the one in California, won its opener 42-26 over San Jose State. The Trojans had a huge lead before putting in their backups in the 4th quarter.
But what had Florida fans talking was just how empty the game was in the stands. It was announced there were 51,144 fans at the game, but it looked like maybe half of that actually showed up. USC defenders tried to point out that it was north of 90 degrees and trotted out the ole “Well, there are just other things to do in Los Angeles” excuse.
Maybe because people don’t want to sit in triple digit weather https://t.co/C6lS3WSQdZ
— Barstool USC (@BarstoolSC) August 29, 2026
USC vs San Jose State, season opener on Sep 5, 2009. 90 degrees, 12:30p kickoff, attendance was 84,325.
— Joe (@JoeChacon) August 30, 2026
Today’s attendance was announced as 51,144; which we know was much lower than that.
Fans blame the heat and the fact SC was playing SJSU. But maybe it has more to do with… pic.twitter.com/5nI5Z9gxUN
We aren’t disputing that it was hot, but how many games in The Swamp have been north of 90 degrees and are still sold out with 90,000+ fans?
That’s rhetorical. Florida's spring games have more fans than what USC had for an actual game yesterday.
Just admit you aren’t that dedicated a fanbase and move on, rather than grasping at straws that somehow you really are a dedicated fanbase. Like every other fanbase in Los Angeles, you are a bandwagon fanbase that only attaches to your teams when it is convenient.
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