All Gators

Week 5 Games to Watch with Florida Gators on a Bye

With the Florida Gators off for the week, here is what your weekend watch schedule should look like.

Cam Parker

Sep 7, 2024; Oxford, Mississippi, USA; Mississippi Rebels quarterback Jaxson Dart (2) talks with Mississippi Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin during the first half against the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images
Sep 7, 2024; Oxford, Mississippi, USA; Mississippi Rebels quarterback Jaxson Dart (2) talks with Mississippi Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin during the first half against the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images / Petre Thomas-Imagn Images
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After a 2-2 start to the 2024 season, the Florida Gators get a much-needed bye week before heading into the bulk of its already-difficult schedule.

The Gators saw outside noise against the direction of the program amplify after losses against Miami and Texas A&M, while wins against Samford and Mississippi State provided much-needed confidence boosts.

Now, Florida will turn its attention the final two-thirds of its schedule, which includes five games against ranked opponents, four of whom are ranked in the top-five of the most-recent AP Poll.

A Gator-football-free weekend should equate to an easy-going weekend for Florida fans, and it should provide an opportunity for some early scouting of future opponents. Here's three games, each coming in different time slots, Gator fans should keep an eye on during Saturday's slate of matchups.

Early Slate: Kentucky (2-2) @ No. 6 Ole Miss (4-0)

Saturday's early game between Kentucky and Ole Miss is the only game of the week that features two future UF opponents facing each other. The Gators host the Wildcats on Oct. 19 for homecoming and host the Rebels on Nov. 23 for senior day.

Not to mention, with Florida head coach Billy Napier on the hot seat, Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin has quickly become a fan-favorite to replace him. BetOnline recently gave Kiffin the second-highest odds to be the Gators' next head coach at +500.

The Rebels' matchup against the Wildcats kicks off at noon EST with television coverage on ABC. Ole Miss is favored by 17.5 points, according to FanDuel.

Middle Slate: Colorado (3-1) @ UCF (3-0)

When Florida returns from the bye, it'll play host to UCF on Oct. 5. Although this one has no SEC ramifications, it does give the Gators an opportunity to extensively scout its next opponent, who boasts the nation's top-ranked rushing attack and could be ranked should they pull out a win against the Buffaloes.

UCF will look to defend home field against Colorado beginning at 3:30 p.m. EST with television coverage on Fox. The Knights are 14.5-point favorites, according to FanDuel.

Florida's matchup next week against the Knights kicks off at 7:45 p.m. with television coverage on SEC Network.

Evening Slate: No. 2 Georgia @ No. 4 Alabama

There's no evening game with major ramifications for the Gators' other than Georgia's matchup against Alabama. However, this one has major playoff ramifications with two top-five teams in a rematch of last year's SEC Championship.

Florida does not play Alabama this year but will play Georgia for its yearly meetup on Nov. 2 at 3:30 p.m. EST.

This week's game of the week starts at 7:30 p.m. EST with television coverage on ABC. The Bulldogs are slight favorites on the road with a 1.5-point lean, according to FanDuel.

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Cam Parker
CAM PARKER

Cam Parker is a contributing writer at AllGators.com of FanNation-Sports Illustrated and is a recent graduate of the University of Florida with a degree in journalism. He also covers and broadcasts Alachua County high school sports with The Prep Zone and Mainstreet Daily News. When he isn't writing, he enjoys listening to '70s music such as The Band or Lynyrd Skynyrd, binge-watching shows and playing with his cat, Chester.

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