The 2024 schedule for Florida football could be one of the hardest ever
It's no secret that Florida football has a difficult slate of games ahead of them in 2024. With Miami, UCF, and FSU all on the non-conference slate combined with a challenging rotation of SEC games, many people have given the Gators the crown on "Hardest schedule in 2024."
But according to one professional gambler, Florida's schedule isn't only the hardest in 2024, it is one of the hardest schedules anyone has had in the past decade.
Florida Football: Tough Sledding
Coming off a 5-7 season, Billy Napier and crew probably would swap their schedule with Missouri if given a chance. Hell, even if the Gators were coming off a 15-0 season, they probably would swap their schedule with Missouri if given a chance.
It is not unfair to state that if Florida had the schedule of Missouri, Miami, Nebraska, Ohio State, or FSU in 2024 that the expectations for the Gators would be nine wins or bust.
But they don't and it is with that backdrop that Michael Bratton from That SEC Podcast has his personal over/under win total for the Gators in 2024 set at six.
Projected Over/Under win totals for every SEC team in 2024:
— SEC Mike (@MichaelWBratton) January 25, 2024
Alabama 9
Arkansas 5
Auburn 7
Florida 6
Georgia 11
Kentucky 7
LSU 9
Oklahoma 8
Ole Miss 9
Mississippi State 5
Missouri 9.5
South Carolina 5.5
Tennessee 8.5
Texas 10
Texas A&M 7
Vanderbilt 3.5https://t.co/4ccDp37tWA
This brought on an interesting reply from professional gambler Brad Powers who said that Florida will enter the 2024 season with the toughest power-rated schedule he has seen in 15 years.
It's the toughest power-rated schedule in 15 years of doing this.
— Brad Powers (@BradPowers7) January 25, 2024
A team ranked around 20th would go 6-6 against their schedule. Don't think the Gators are a Top 20 team.
We chronicled when the schedule first came out that there is a real chance we could see a repeat of 2023 where the Gators come out of the gate looking like they are going to be okay, head into their bye week before Georgia at 5-2, then collapse down the stretch to finish 5-7.
But also, to Powers' point, it's also kind of a problem if, in year three of the Billy Napier Era, the Gators are not a top-20 team. Dan Mullen was let go in part because it felt like the Gators would be stuck in the 10th to 15th range in purgatory with him at the helm. Napier wasn't brought it for fans to sit idly by if they aren't even a top 25 team.
There can still be reasonable expectations for the Gators even if they do have the hardest schedule anyone has faced in 15 years.