In the midst of a lengthy College Football Playoff announcement show on Sunday news broke that the Gators would be competing in the Cotton Bowl against the Oklahoma Sooners.
Oklahoma finished the year 8-2 after starting the season with a few hiccups, losing to Kansas State and Iowa State. Following those two tough losses they found their footing, particularly defensively, and went on a run that finished Saturday with a revenge win over Iowa State for a Big 12 championship.
Defensively the Sooners have found a way to get some stops when they need them but make no mistake about it, they are all about offense. Everything starts with redshirt freshman quarterback Spencer Rattler, a dynamic athlete who can get things done with his arm and his legs. Containing him will be a monumental task for Florida’s defense as they look to end the season on a high.
For the Gators this will be their third straight New Year’s Six Bowl. In 2018 they hammered Michigan in the Peach Bowl and in 2019 they handled Virginia in the Orange Bowl, and in 2020 they’ll be looking to keep their streak going.
Now, the questions will circle which Gators will be participating. Tight end Kyle Pitts announced early Sunday morning in a tweet that he would be foregoing any bowl game the Gators were a part of.
https://twitter.com/kylepitts__/status/1340681458575433728?s=21
So far he’s the only player to officially announce an intention to sit out the Cotton Bowl, though he likely won’t be the only one. The Gators have a handful of NFL hopefuls that don’t exactly need to put anything more on film, and this year’s bowl game experience will certainly lack some of the pageantry and appeal that it would normally have.
Florida likely won’t get any breaks from Oklahoma in terms of opt outs. Many of their key players aren’t draft eligible and in the Big 12 the Sooners took part in a small handful of blowouts, meaning many of their guys would love to put up some highlights against quality competition.
As more news regarding Florida’s preparations for the game breaks, you can bet we’ll have it here at Gator Country.