![Florida Gators quarterback DJ Lagway (2) and Florida Gators head coach Billy Napier watch during spring football practice at Heavener Football Complex at the University of Florida in Gainesville, FL on Thursday, March 6, 2025. [Matt Pendleton/Gainesville Sun]](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,x_0,y_0,w_4448,h_2502/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/213/01k0t6jxrt83tny8c2r4.jpg "Florida Gators quarterback DJ Lagway (2) and Florida Gators head coach Billy Napier watch during spring football practice at Heavener Football Complex at the University of Florida in Gainesville, FL on Thursday, March 6, 2025. [Matt Pendleton/Gainesville Sun]")
The Florida Gators are entering the 2025 season at +4000 to win the national title. Rankings-wise, it puts them in the top 15, though there is quite a gap in odds for the Gators compared to teams like Texas, Georgia, and Ohio State.
But if you are saying there is a chance, then July is the time of year to dream away. And according to ESPN, these four factors could make or break the season for Florida.
Florida's four "Ifs" that will define the season
ESPN trotted out their "Ifs" list, basically listing out "if" these things go right, how each team could win the national title.
Some of the bigger favorites only had two "ifs" that need to go correct, while the Gators were given four "ifs" by ESPN:
- If ... Lagway is what we think he is
- If ... he has receivers
- If ... last season's sophomore defenders become steely-eyed veterans
- If ... the Gators have the depth to survive this ridiculous schedule
None of these are shocking to any Gator fans paying attention, but it also paints a picture that Florida might not be that far away from a great season.
Lagway being a star, the automatic "if" on this list. There really isn't a pathway for Florida to make the playoffs if Lagway is a mid-tier QB.
Whether Florida has the receivers to help Lagway become a star seems like an automatic checkmark. However, as we have noted here at Hail Florida Hail all offseason, while Florida has the ceiling to have a top-ten unit in 2025, there is also a lack of actual proven production in the room, which creates a floor lower than most are willing to admit.
The defense taking a step forward is also a no-brainer. ESPN specifically notes Sharif Denson and Pup Howard as players who could become stars "if" they raise their game in 2025.
And then there is the schedule, to which Billy Napier would say, "Spot the ball."
Add it all together, and these don't seem like unrealistic hurdles for Florida to clear in 2025. And if the Gators do clear these hurdles, the sky might just be the limit.
No ifs, ands, or buts about it.