Florida football's 2025 season is drawing interest from around the state, including in Tallahassee. What game is Ron DeSantis looking forward to most this season?
Arch Manning’s emergence as Texas football’s starting quarterback has ignited the SEC and the college football fanbase.
This includes a certain influential Floridan in Tallahassee.
Governor Ron DeSantis said Tuesday, July 22, in Gainesville that he plans to attend Florida football’s October 4th showdown with the Longhorns at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
“I know I’ll be at one game this year,” DeSantis said at the conclusion of his press conference. “I want to go to that Texas game, but maybe we’ll come back before then.”
The governor visited Gainesville on Tuesday to discuss Florida’s version of the Department of Governmental Efficiency (DOGE) coming to Gainesville and Alachua County.
He began his speech at the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) State Materials Office on NE 39th Ave addressing Florida football, offering his thoughts on the Gators schedule – rated as one of the toughest in the country.
“They have a couple of easier games to start,” DeSantis said. “But then it gets pretty dagone tough. The way the season ended last year was positive. I think that they got an opportunity to do well.”
He continued that Florida ranks near the top in the economy and higher education, but not in college football. His three kids root for the Gators’ archrival in Florida State due to their Tallahassee upbringing.
DeSantis said it takes some coaxing for them to root for Florida, such as at April’s National Championship basketball game. The Governor, like many, thought the Gators would play Duke instead of Houston.
“I told them, ‘You cannot root for Duke against a Florida team,’” DeSantis said.
The family attended last season’s opener vs. Miami. All three children wore Gators gear, but DeSantis said they yearned for Doak Campbell Stadium.
The governor also spoke of artificial intelligence and used the Gators to highlight its issues. He referenced how, two days after the national championship, he asked Grok – X’s AI assistant – which programs in the country have three national championships in football and men’s basketball. The system couldn’t name Florida.
“I went to war with Grok,” DeSantis said. “I always tell people, though, the model for an athletic program is what Florida had with the basketball team repeating and the football team with Tebow. You will never find a place that can match that.”
Noah Ram covers Florida Gators athletics and Gainesville-area high school sports for The Gainesville Sun, GatorSports.com and the USA TODAY Network. Contact him at [email protected]. Follow him on X @Noah_ram1. Read his coverage of the Gators’ national championship basketball season in “CHOMP-IONS!” — a hardcover coffee-table collector’s book from The Sun. Details at Florida.ChampsBook.com
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Governor Ron DeSantis plans to attend Florida football game vs Texas
Category: General Sports
