Florida Gators LB James Houston disses Oklahoma before bowl game

Florida linebacker James Houston IV on Tuesday took a shot at Oklahoma ahead of their meeting in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic on Dec. 30.

Houston, a redshirt junior, was asked about playing in Big 12 territory at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. He said he wasn't worried about Oklahoma having a form of home-field advantage.

"Oklahoma is a good matchup, but they're not on our level," he said. "They're not the SEC. They're not the Florida Gators. So we should put on a good show."

Houston's comments stood in stark contrast with those from the rest of his teammates.

Wide receiver Justin Shorter called Oklahoma "a pretty good team."

Quarterback Kyle Trask had only watched some film of the Sooners but came away impressed.

"They've got some solid players," he said. "We're just going to have to put together a good game plan and just execute."

Oklahoma, whose season got off to a rocky start at 1-2, has since rattled off seven straight wins, including a Big 12 championship last Saturday, to finish No. 6 in the College Football Playoff rankings.

Florida, which ranks seventh, is coming off back-to-back losses to unranked LSU and No. 1 Alabama in the SEC championship game.

The Gators will be without star tight end Kyle Pitts after the Biletnikoff Award finalist announced earlier this week that he is opting out to prepare for the NFL draft.