Florida football has a lot to prove coming off of a shocking upset loss at the hands of South Florida on Saturday in Gainesville, but the schedule isn't getting any easier for Billy Napier and company.
Now, the Gators have to hop right into SEC play and take on No. 3 LSU in Death Valley on Saturday night. There's no question that Florida must step up its game on both sides of the ball if it wants to compete with Brian Kelly and the Tigers, but it will be getting at least one reinforcement that should help the cause.
Defensive lineman Caleb Banks, one of Florida's top players on that side of the ball, is expected to make his season debut on Saturday after missing the first two games of the season, according to Matt Zenitz of 247 Sports.
“Some good injury news for Florida heading into its game against LSU this week,” Zenitz wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “Star defensive lineman Caleb Banks, who has missed the Gators’ first two games, is set to play this week.”
Banks is playing his third year at Florida after spending two seasons at Louisville at the start of his career. He broke out as a star player last season, playing in 12 games and notching 4.5 sacks and seven tackles for loss.
The senior came into the 2025 season as a potential first-round pick in next spring's NFL Draft and had a chance to be one of the best defensive linemen in the SEC this fall, but he suffered a foot injury during fall camp that has affected his preparation for the season. Banks missed the season opener against Long Island and the clash against South Florida, but now he is ready to go for conference play.
If Florida wants to live up to its expectations and make a run at the College Football Playoff this season, it is going to have to pull off some upsets especially after already taking a loss out of the conference. Of its 10 remaining games, eight of them are against teams currently ranked in the top 25, so the now-unranked Gators will have to pull off some upsets along the way. Maybe that can start with an LSU team that was underwhelming in Week 2 against Louisiana Tech after beating Clemson to open the year.
