Hail Florida Hail
Fansided

Florida football: SEC Network has the Gators going 4-8

By Will Thomas

September 3, 2011; Gainesville FL, USA; A Florida Gators helmet on the field prior to the game against the Florida Atlantic Owls at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
September 3, 2011; Gainesville FL, USA; A Florida Gators helmet on the field prior to the game against the Florida Atlantic Owls at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

Florida football, as we’ve chronicled, has relatively low expectations for this season, which has been reflected in lots of college football media all summer.

ESPN had one of the more optimistic projections, saying that the Gators would be 8-4 on the field this fall.

But the SEC Network has a very pessimistic viewpoint, as they ran through Florida’s schedule and gave the Gators a 4-8 record.

So let’s dig into this and tear apart some of their logic, shall we?

Florida football: Have to win the toss-ups

There’s a very fine line between 8-4 and 4-8 for the Gators this year. They have to win most of, if not all of their toss-up games that could go either way.

SEC Network thinks they’ll only take one of those. Here’s their full schedule prediction:

Utah: Loss

McNeese: Win

Tennesse: Loss

Charlotte: Win

Kentucky: Loss

Vanderbilt: Win

South Carolina: Loss

Georgia: Loss

Arkansas: Win

LSU: Loss

Missouri: Loss

Florida State: Loss

1-5 over their last six games would be about as bad as it could get for Napier and the Gators. Luckily, it would be surprising if it actually went that way.

So let’s go through what’s wrong with this list.

I think South Carolina is fake. Yeah, they got hot last season and pulled off some upsets. But Spencer Rattler is inconsistent and the Gators shut him down last season. There’s no reason they won’t do it again.

Also, Missouri is not any good. Landing the No. 1 recruit in 2024 doesn’t help you on the field in 2023. Those are the two games SEC Network had us losing that I think are outright wrong.

Looking at the Utah, Tennessee, and FSU losses, is it really crazy to say that the Gators walk away with at least one of those games? Especially with Utah’s QB concerns, 0-3 over those seems like a stretch.

As for the other losses, I don’t really have an issue with them projecting L’s to Kentucky, UGA, and LSU.

But the toss-up games, which I believe are Kentucky, SC, Arkansas, and Missouri will go better for Florida than SEC Network is predicting. They won’t be 1-3.

Those are the most important games this fall for Florida as they try to turn it around.

Home/Florida Gators Football