![Florida Gators head coach Billy Napier runs onto the field before the start of the game at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, FL on Saturday, September 7, 2024 against the Samford Bulldogs. The Gators won 45-7. [Doug Engle/Gainesville Sun]](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,x_0,y_944,w_4106,h_2309/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/213/01jjya4mvmr2cpcd2hne.jpg "Florida Gators head coach Billy Napier runs onto the field before the start of the game at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, FL on Saturday, September 7, 2024 against the Samford Bulldogs. The Gators won 45-7. [Doug Engle/Gainesville Sun]")
One of the repeated talking points for Florida Football heading into the 2024 campaign was the difficulty of their schedule. With a combination of how the SEC set things up, along with the non-conference schedule that had the Gators play three in-state opponents, there was some talk that Florida could go 8-4 and still be in the conversation for the playoffs.
As 2024 played out, 8-4 wouldn't have gotten the Gators in, as their schedule wasn't quite the murderer's row that was first presented. But their schedule wasn't a cakewalk either, and their 2025 schedule shows no signs of being any easier.
Florida Football: The Road Less Traveled
Outside of replacing Samford with Long Island and UCF with USF, Florida's 2025 schedule will be the same as it was in 2024. The only difference is the order of when everyone is played and the home sites.
As Josh Pate, host of Josh Pate's College Football Show, points out, Vegas odds envision another daunting slate in 2025.
Florida plays 8 of the top 21 teams in @FDSportsbook national title odds in 2025. Conference realignment has created inexcusable disparity in strength of schedules.
— Josh Pate (@JoshPateCFB) January 30, 2025
Florida will face eight opponents who are in the top 25 for "National Championship Betting Odds," including four teams in the top ten (Texas, Georiga, Tennessee, LSU).
The only four teams Florida will face that are not in the top 25 are Long Island, USF, Mississippi State, and Kentucky.
Now, there are still reasons for Florida to feel like it should go 9-3 or better in 2025, even with their schedule. Miami will be breaking in Carson Beck. Florida had both Georgia and Tennessee dead to rights before letting those games slip away. And the Gators outright beat Ole Miss, LSU, and FSU.
As the committee showed last year, they were willing to put 9-3 Alabama into the playoffs ahead of 10-2 Miami until Clemson bumped them out as ACC champs. So, there is a pathway for Florida to make it to the playoffs in 2025, even with their schedule.
Frankly, anything short of that will be a disappointment in year four of the Billy Napier Era.