Florida football schedule, five games to watch in 2026

Florida football enters its first season under head coach Jon Sumrall facing another daunting schedule.

The Florida Gators will take on three teams that made the College Football Playoff a season ago − Ole Miss, Georgia and Oklahoma − plus two more teams (Texas, Vanderbilt) that finished in the Top 14 of the CFP rankings in 2025.

As a result, UF’s schedule strength is ranked fifth nationally, per College Football News Network. The average win total of UF’s 12 opponents from 2025 is 7.3, with five of its opponents posting 10 or more wins last season.

The SEC agreed to move to a nine-game conference schedule starting in 2026 to increase revenue and improve competitive balance within the league. UF’s three non-conference games will include home games with Florida Atlantic and Campbell, an FCS opponent. The Gators will then close the 2026 season in their annual rivalry game at Florida State on Nov. 28.

Here are five games to watch in Sumrall’s first season:

Florida football at Auburn, Sept. 19

UF’s SEC opener will also mark its first trip to The Plains since 2011. The game will pit two first-year SEC coaches as Sumrall will face Auburn’s Alex Golesh, who led USF to an 18-16 upset over Florida at The Swamp on Sept. 6, 2025.

Florida will face some more familiar faces as well as USF quarterback Byrum Brown and receiver Keshaun Singleton followed Golesh from USF to Auburn. Brown passed for 263 yards and a TD and rushed for 66 yards in USF’s win over Florida, while Singleton had two catches for 75 yards and a TD.

The matchup will feature more storylines as former Auburn receiver Eric Singleton Jr. figures to play a prominent role in Florida’s offense after transferring to UF during the offseason. Auburn also initially targeted Sumrall for its head coaching vacancy before pivoting to Golesh when Sumrall was hired by UF. If Florida can notch a win on the road in its SEC opener, it could set a positive tone for the rest of the season.

Florida football vs Ole Miss, Sept. 26

Florida’s SEC home opener will come against an Ole Miss squad with designs on winning a league title in its first full season under head coach Pete Golding. With Golding as interim coach, the Rebels reached the College Football Playoff semifinals before falling to Miami in the Fiesta Bowl.

Ole Miss returns both standout quarterback Trinidad Chambliss and star running back Kewan Lacy from a team that beat UF 34-24 in Oxford, Miss., a season ago. But the Rebels won’t have the offensive mastermind duo of Lane Kiffin and Charlie Weis Jr., who have both moved on to LSU.

The game will pit two of the SEC’s premier running backs, Lacy and Florida junior Jadan Baugh. The matchup could come down to which team establishes the run better behind their star backs.

Florida football at Texas, Oct. 17

Florida will make its second trip to Austin, Texas, in three years. The Gators upset the Longhorns in The Swamp 29-21 on Oct. 4, 2025. But it didn’t go as well for UF in its last trip to Austin as the Longhorns throttled UF 49-17 on Nov. 9, 2024.

Texas has designs on an SEC title with the return of Arch Manning for his second season as starting quarterback. Florida will have its hands full facing a high-powered Longhorns offense led by head coach Steve Sarkisian.

Florida football vs Georgia, Oct. 31, Atlanta

The border rivalry will take on a new look at Florida will face Georgia at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. It will mark the first time 1995 that the game has been played away from Jacksonville, due to renovations at EverBank Stadium.

Georgia has won five in a row and eight of its last nine games in the series. The Bulldogs return quarterback Gunner Stokcton, who will need to break in a new group of receivers led by Georgia Tech transfer Isiah Canion.

Florida football vs Oklahoma, Nov. 7

The Sooners will make their first-ever trip to The Swamp and should face a raucous atmosphere. Oklahoma is eyeing a return to the College Football Playoffs for the second straight season under head coach Brent Venables.

OU returns quarterback John Mateer, who battled through injuries to pass for 2,885 yards with 14 TDs to 11 interceptions last season. Defensively, the Sooners have always been sound under Venables and will be led by linebacker Owen Heinecke and cornerback Eli Bowen. Former UF tight end Hayden Hansen also will return to The Swamp after transferring to OU during the offseason.

Florida football 2026 schedule

Sept 5 − Florida Atlantic

Sept. 12 − Campbell

Sept. 19 − at Auburn

Sept. 26 − Ole Miss

Oct. 3 − at Missouri

Oct. 10 − South Carolina

Oct. 17 − at Texas

Oct. 31 − Georgia, Atlanta

Nov. 7 − Oklahoma

Nov. 14 − at Kentucky

Nov. 21 − Vanderbilt

Nov. 28 − at Florida State

Kevin Brockway is The Gainesville Sun’s Florida beat writer. Contact him at kbrockway@gannett.com. Follow him on X @KevinBrockwayG1.