Florida's offense heads to Texas with Aaron Philo's shoulder in question

Florida's offense goes to Austin on Saturday as the strongest part of a team that has lost two in a row, and nobody yet knows who will play quarterback. Starter Aaron Philo has been limited in practice this week with a shoulder injury, a person familiar with the situation told the Associated Press. That backs up an earlier report from CBS Sports' Matt Zenitz, which Sports Illustrated's Longhorns Country passed along.

The timing hurts. In its preview for On3's Inside Texas, the site has Florida's offense 12th in the nation by FEI. It credits coordinator Buster Faulkner's motion-heavy scheme and a skill group it puts among the most dynamic in the country. Philo followed Faulkner from Georgia Tech, where he spent two years in the system. He has completed about 71 percent of his passes for 1,341 yards, with nine touchdown passes, three more on the ground and three interceptions, OnlyGators reported. If he can't play, sophomore Tramell Jones Jr. would make his first career start. Jones has handled only mop-up snaps this season.

The rest of the offense is still there. Running back Jadan Baugh is the centerpiece. Dallas Wilson leads the receivers with 26 catches for 376 yards and three touchdowns, Burnt Orange Nation noted. Vernell Brown III has missed two games with a knee injury, and OnlyGators reports he has a real shot to return. Still, the last two weeks showed this offense can be stopped. Missouri held Baugh to 13 yards on 12 carries, and after South Carolina, coach Jon Sumrall told reporters, "we have a long way to go to get to where we need to be as a football team," per Burnt Orange Nation.

What it means for Saturday

Florida is 4-2, and its season splits cleanly in two. In the first four games the Gators averaged 53.5 points and beat No. 4 Ole Miss 52-28. Then came a 45-17 loss at No. 25 Missouri and a 38-19 home loss to South Carolina: 36 points scored and 83 allowed in two weeks. The defense has given up 29 points a game overall.

No. 7 Texas is 4-1 and allows 16 points a game, but its offense has not pulled away from good teams. The Longhorns beat No. 1 Ohio State 24-23 and No. 14 Tennessee 20-17, then lost 27-24 to Oklahoma. Three of their last four games were decided by three points or fewer. Texas has lost only once at home in 24 games since 2023, according to Longhorns Country.

The board for this game has Texas favored by 11.5 at most of its 10 venues. Novig has the Longhorns at -400 on the moneyline, and the best Texas price anywhere is -388 at Polymarket. Florida is +365 at Novig and +375 at Hard Rock Bet, the longest price available. On the spread, Novig lists Texas -11.5 at +106 and Florida +11.5 at -111. FanDuel's -110 is the best price on the Gators. DraftKings is the one venue a point lower, with Texas -10.5 at -115. The total sits at 51.5, with Novig at -106 on the over and -102 on the under. Sportsbook hold runs from about 4 to 7 percent across the markets, so the venues are close together. That number falls between the two teams' scoring profiles: Texas games have averaged about 47 combined points, Florida games about 71. Whether Philo or Jones lines up behind center may decide which side of 51.5 this one lands on.