The Florida Gators had a real chance to win the SEC and make the College Football Playoff last year, until quarterback Will Grier was suspended for using a banned substance that he didn’t clear through relevant officials at the University of Florida. The Gators lost their star offensive player and watched their offense crumble. Without Grier this season, the search for offensive consistency will in many ways start all over again in Gainesville.
The good news is that their defense is still strong and if they can find some help at the quarterback position – and on offense – then they could be a surprise team. Head coach Jim McElwain knows how to coach up an offense, so it’s possible. The Florida Gators surprised the nation last year, so can they do it again and elevate their game?
Biggest Team Weakness
The Gators’ foremost weakness is at quarterback. Luke Del Rio or Purdue transfer Austin Appleby will be in the mix, but it’s really hard to know what they’ll bring to the table. Florida’s backups behind Grier were terrible last season. This is a position in which there are several options for head coach Jim McElwain, but no one knows how reliable those options will be. It’s such a vague and nebulous situation, and as much as fall camp might identify some strengths in Del Rio or Appleby, we won’t really learn much until the Gators step into the teeth of their SEC schedule.
Biggest Team Strength
The Gators’ offense might struggle because of the outlook at quarterback, but the defense should be great because of a loaded secondary. Cornerback Jalen Tabor is seen as a first-round selection in next year’s NFL Draft. Safety Marcus Maye is an anchor in the back line of defense, also providing run support to supplement his pass coverage. The Gators might not score a lot, but it’s going to be hard for other teams to score on them. This team shut down a very strong Ole Miss offense last season, and a lot of the pieces are back this year. The only concern for the defense is if the offense forces it to stay on the field too long. However, the defense can get a lot of three and outs in the first halves of games and gain an advantage that way.
Schedule
The Gators have a schedule which isn’t exactly a piece of cake, but it’s the SEC East and not the SEC West, which always makes a difference. The biggest games of the season are the ones which will determine the SEC East title. Florida goes to Tennessee for a gigantic game against the Vols, who are preseason division favorites and a top-10 team in some national rankings. The Gators also make the annual trek to Jacksonville to play Georgia. If the Florida Gators wins those two games and cleans up against the rest of what will be a very weak SEC East, it should win the division, which would be a successful season given all the limits the Gators face on offense. The Florida Gators will have a very hard time winning at Florida State. This is not a national title contender at all. It’s just not realistic this season. Goals have to be modest for this team.
Outlook
The Florida Gators have owned Tennessee of late, but the Vols blew last year’s game in the fourth quarter and are home this year, with more talent than Florida. It looks like this finally might be the year where there is a changing of the guards. There is a lot of hype around the Vols and they’re still a young, unproven team. However, it feels like this is the year and it feels like Florida is a step behind them.
The Gators might beat Georgia later in the year when they’ve had a chance to coalesce, but they probably won’t get past the Vols. That’ll be the difference between them winning the division and going to the SEC Championship, and finishing in second place.
Projection: 2nd In SEC East
