Scoring summary
Florida scored 24 unanswered points to erase a 17–3 second-quarter deficit, then iced the game on Myles Graham’s strip-sack of Arch Manning with 1:58 to play. Quarter scoring: Florida 0–10–7–10, Texas 10–7–0–7.
| Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida | 0 | 10 | 7 | 10 | 27 |
| Texas | 10 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 24 |
| Qtr | Time | Team | Play | Fla | Tex |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11:42 | Texas | Raleek Brown 32-yd TD run (Spetic kick) | 0 | 7 |
| 1 | 6:42 | Texas | Gianni Spetic 38-yd field goal | 0 | 10 |
| 2 | 13:48 | Florida | Patrick Durkin 45-yd field goal | 3 | 10 |
| 2 | 11:27 | Texas | Ryan Niblett 63-yd punt-return TD (Spetic kick) | 3 | 17 |
| 2 | 0:18 | Florida | Tramell Jones Jr. 7-yd TD pass to Lacota Dippre (Durkin kick) | 10 | 17 |
| 3 | 6:50 | Florida | Jones 8-yd TD pass to Dippre (Durkin kick) | 17 | 17 |
| 4 | 10:43 | Florida | Durkin 28-yd field goal | 20 | 17 |
| 4 | 6:22 | Florida | Jadan Baugh 11-yd TD run (Durkin kick) | 27 | 17 |
| 4 | 4:21 | Texas | Arch Manning 9-yd TD pass to Cam Coleman (Spetic kick) | 27 | 24 |
The finish
After Florida’s ensuing possession stalled, Texas got the ball at its own 46 with 2:32 left and a chance to tie or win. On second-and-8, linebacker Myles Graham sacked Manning and forced a fumble that defensive back Kanye Clark recovered at the Texas 39 with 1:58 remaining. Florida converted a third-and-7 on Jones’ 9-yard zone-read keeper, and the Gators knelt out the rest.
Team stats
Florida ran 81 plays to Texas’ 50, held the ball for more than 38 minutes, and committed zero turnovers. Texas was held without an offensive point in the third quarter and gained just 8 yards in the period.
| Category | Florida | Texas |
|---|---|---|
| First downs | 21 | 13 |
| First downs (pass / rush / penalty) | 12 / 8 / 1 | 5 / 6 / 2 |
| Total plays | 81 | 50 |
| Total yards | 313 | 272 |
| Yards per play | 3.9 | 5.4 |
| Passing (comp / att) | 22 / 35 | 14 / 20 |
| Net passing yards | 155 | 173 |
| Sacks allowed (count / yards) | 1 / 11 | 5 / 29 |
| Rushing (att / yards) | 46 / 158 | 30 / 99 |
| Third-down conversions | 8 / 19 | 2 / 10 |
| Fourth-down conversions | 2 / 2 | 1 / 3 |
| Red zone | 4 / 4 | 2 / 2 |
| Turnovers (INT / fumbles lost) | 0 (0 / 0) | 1 (0 / 1) |
| Penalties (count / yards) | 7 / 55 | 1 / 15 |
| Time of possession | 38:11 | 21:49 |
| Punts | 6 | 4 |
Player stats
Every verified stat line. Tramell Jones Jr. made his first career start for the injured Aaron Philo and did not turn the ball over; Arch Manning was sacked five times.
| Player (team) | Cmp | Att | Yds | TD | INT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tramell Jones Jr. (Fla) — first career start | 22 | 35 | 155 | 2 | 0 |
| Arch Manning (Tex) | 14 | 20 | 173 | 1 | 0 |
| Player (team) | Att | Yds | TD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jadan Baugh (Fla) | 25 | 91 | 1 | 11-yd go-ahead TD, Q4 |
| Tramell Jones Jr. (Fla) | 10 | 41 | 0 | Includes 9-yd 3rd-down keeper to ice it |
| Hollywood Smothers (Tex) | — | 52 | 0 | Team-high; carries not published |
| Raleek Brown (Tex) | — | — | 1 | 32-yd TD run opened the scoring |
| Player (team) | Rec | Yds | TD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emmett Mosley V (Tex) | — | 76 | 0 | Includes 62-yd catch on the late TD drive |
| Eric Singleton Jr. (Fla) | — | 43 | 0 | Florida receiving-yardage leader |
| Lacota Dippre (Fla, TE) | — | — | 2 | TD catches late Q2 and in Q3 |
| Dallas Wilson (Fla) | — | — | 0 | 17-yd catch on 4th-and-12 before halftime |
| Cam Coleman (Tex) | — | — | 1 | 9-yd TD catch, 4:21 Q4 |
| Player (team) | FG | XP | Punts | Punt yds | Net | In20 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Patrick Durkin (Fla) | 2 / 2 | 3 / 3 | — | — | — | — |
| Alec Clark (Fla, P) | — | — | 6 | 311 | 211 | 2 |
| Gianni Spetic (Tex) | 1 / 1 | 3 / 3 | — | — | — | — |
| Mac Chiumento (Tex, P) | — | — | 4 | 169 | 165 | 1 |
Reception and carry counts beyond the lines above were not published in the sources reviewed, so they are left blank rather than estimated. Durkin made field goals of 45 and 28 yards; Spetic made a 38-yarder.
Defense
Florida’s five sacks — the last one a game-icing strip-sack — headlined a unit that held Texas to 272 yards after allowing 83 points the previous two weeks. Texas lost star edge Colin Simmons to a fourth-quarter leg injury.
| Player | Pos | Tkl | Sacks | TFL | QBH | FF | FR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LJ McCray | DL | 2 | 1.5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Myles Graham | LB | — | 1.0 | — | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Ty Jackson | LB | 1 | 0.5 | — | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Brendan Bett | DL | 1 | 0.5 | — | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| DK Kalu | DL | 1 | 0.5 | — | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Ben Hanks III | CB | 1 | 0.5 | — | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Lagonza Hayward | S | 1 | 0.5 | — | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Kanye Clark | DB | — | — | — | — | 0 | 1 |
| Player | Pos | Tkl | Sacks | TFL | QBH | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colin Simmons | EDGE | 8 | 1.0 | 4 | 2 | Carted off in Q4 with a left leg injury |
Team totals: Florida 5.0 sacks, 11 tackles for loss, 2 passes deflected, 1 forced fumble, 1 recovery — and no interceptions by either side. The published partial box does not list tackle totals for every defender, so a ranked tackle-leader board could not be built; the lines above are the verified impact plays. Graham’s tackle total also conflicts between sources (one report credits him with seven second-half tackles), so it is omitted.
Key takeaways
What decided one of the biggest upsets of the 2026 season.
- 01The defense flipped the season. Florida entered ranked last in the SEC in yards allowed and 131st nationally against the pass — then sacked Manning five times, held Texas to 272 yards and 2-of-10 on third down, and produced the game’s only takeaway when it mattered most. Eight Texas yards in the entire third quarter tells the story.
- 02Possession was a weapon. An 81-to-50 play gap and a 38:11-to-21:49 time-of-possession edge (plus-16 minutes) let Florida survive a sluggish start. After going 0-for-8 on third down in the first half, the Gators went 8-for-11 after halftime behind long, grinding drives — including a 15-play, 8-minute tying march in the third quarter.
- 03Jones outplayed the moment. Making his first career start for the injured Aaron Philo, Tramell Jones Jr. went 22-of-35 for 155 yards and two scores with no turnovers, leading 24 unanswered points from 17–3 down — the first Florida QB since Jesse Palmer in 1997 to beat a top-10 team on the road in his first career start.
- 04Texas lost its closer on both sides. Manning’s late fumble ended the comeback bid, but the Longhorns also lost star edge Colin Simmons (8 tackles, 4 TFL, a sack) to a fourth-quarter leg injury that saw him carted off. Texas has now dropped back-to-back games after its Red River loss, both by 27–24.
Against the call
How the preview’s projection held up against reality.
Projected: Texas by twelve, just off the market’s implied ~31–21. The pick assumed Texas’s defense would throttle a Florida offense led by a backup quarterback making his first career start.
Actual: Florida 27 – 24
The pick missed by 15 points of margin and the wrong winner entirely. Three things the call got wrong:
1. Florida’s defense — projected to be the mismatch Texas exploited — was the best unit on the field (5 sacks, 11 TFL). 2. The “Baugh keeps it respectable” ceiling of ~19 points undersold a 313-yard, zero-turnover offense. 3. The Simmons injury removed Texas’s best pass rusher for the closing drives.
Verdict: wrong side, wrong shape — Florida’s first road win over a top-10 team since 2012.
Sources & caveats
Final score cross-checked against Sportradar, Florida’s official site, USA Today network live blogs, SI, and the AP recap. Box-score figures are from Sportradar and Florida’s official game center, which agree.
- Sportradar game page — Texas vs Florida, Oct. 17, 2026Final score, quarter scoring, full team statistics, partial defensive and kicking tables.
- FloridaGators.com — FINAL: Florida 27, Texas 24Official recap by Chris Harry: Jones 22/35, both TDs to Dippre, 313 yards, 21 first downs, 38:11 TOP, 5 sacks, game-icing fumble details, sold-out crowd of 100,000+.
- FloridaGators.com — game center box scoreQuarter scoring, team stats (21/13 first downs, 158/99 rush, 155/173 pass, 81-313/50-272 plays-yards, 3rd/4th down) and game leaders (Jones 155 yds; Manning 173; Baugh 91; Smothers 52; Singleton 43; Mosley 76).
- GatorCountry — Florida takes down Texas on the roadFull scoring summary with times and drive charts (7 plays/75 yds; 8/60; 8/37; 9/49; 15/69; 14/57; 6/45; 6/75).
- Gators Wire — live updatesFinal confirmation; Graham’s 9-yard strip-sack and Clark’s recovery at the Texas 39 with 1:58 left; Jones’ 9-yard 3rd-down keeper to ice it.
- Longhorns Wire — recapQuarter-by-quarter score table; 24 unanswered points; Manning’s 62-yard strike to Mosley setting up the Coleman TD.
- Sports Illustrated — Jones Jr.’s resiliencyJones: 22/35, 155 yds, 2 TD, 0 INT, 10 rushes for 41 yds, sacked once; first road top-10 win since 2012.
- USA Today — Colin Simmons injury updateSimmons: 8 tackles, 4 TFL, 2 QB hits, 1 sack; carted off in Q4 with a lower-leg injury; Sarkisian postgame quote.
- Hail Florida Hail — defensive breakdownTeam 11 TFL, 5 sacks, 2 pass deflections; McCray 1.5 sacks; Jackson’s fourth-down stop.
- Bleacher Report — box score & highlightsManning 14/20, 173 yds, 1 TD; Baugh 91 yds and a TD; 272 vs 313 yards; 50 vs 81 plays.
- EssentiallySports — Sumrall on the QB situation0-for-8 to 8-for-11 third-down split; first Florida QB since Jesse Palmer (1997) to win on the road vs a top-10 team in his first career start.
- Gainesville.com — postgame gradesBaugh’s 11-yard TD run; Manning under 100 yards until late Q4; Graham strip-sack, Clark recovery.
Known discrepancies & gaps
- Baugh’s TD run: listed as 11 yards by GatorCountry and Gainesville.com, but 13 yards in Florida’s official recap. Shown as 11 (majority of sources).
- Niblett’s punt-return TD: 63 yards (GatorCountry), 64 (Florida’s official recap), 62 (Bleacher Report). Shown as 63.
- Dippre’s third-quarter TD: 8 yards (GatorCountry) vs 14 yards (Florida’s official recap). Shown as 8.
- Texas ranking: No. 7 in the AP poll per Florida’s official recap and most sources; one outlet (Gainesville.com) lists No. 6.
- Defensive tackles: the published partial box does not list tackle totals for every defender, so a ranked tackle-leader board could not be built — only verified impact plays are shown. Graham’s tackle total conflicts between sources and is omitted.
- Reception/carry counts: per-receiver reception counts and full carry counts beyond the listed lines were not published in the sources reviewed; they are left blank rather than estimated.
- Attendance: reported only as “more than 100,000” and sold out (floridagators.com); no exact figure published.