Preseason Top 15 Countdown #9

Preseason Top 15 Countdown

 

15. Notre Dame

14. Miami

13. LSU

12. Texas A&M

11. Florida State

10. Oklahoma

9. Florida

8.

7.

6.

5.

4.

3.

2.

1.

 

 

      Coming in at #9, I have the Florida Gators. The Gators are coming off of an interesting 2012 campaign. They had double digit wins when it was thought by many that it would be a mediocre 8 or 9 win type season. Even fans in the preseason of 2012 were thinking a 9 win season would be considered a good season based on what their 2011 season was like. However, the Gators made more noise last season than what was expected, and almost found themselves in the National Championship. What does that mean for this season?

   

    For starters, they need to get over the terrible loss to Louisville in the Sugar Bowl. If there were a couple moments that ruined the season in 2012......this was one of those moments and possibly the worst of 2012. It was a chance for this team to finish in the top 5 and it was dashed away before they even knew it. But it's a new season, with new expectations. Obviously, this team won't fly under the radar like it did last season through the first 5 or 6 weeks of the season. Driskel is now in his third season. The team has adapted to the new coaching staff. It's the perfect storm, if you will, for this team to be very tough and contend for an SEC Title.

 

Here's a look at the Gators 2013 schedule:

 

Toledo

At Miami

Tennessee

At Kentucky

Arkansas

At LSU

At Missouri

Georgia*

Vanderbilt

At South Carolina

Georgia Southern

Florida State

 

 

    Florida gets a warm-up before heading to Miami to take on the Canes in a rare match-up. Then they have a week off to focus on their first SEC game against the Vols. While Tennessee doesn't seem to be much of a threat, I still would caution fans about this game, along with the Miami game. The Miami game clearly will not be a game that is over-looked, but it still has all the characteristics of a trap game. Follow that up with a week off that could hurt just as much as it could help, the Tennessee game then becomes a trap game. After these two games, the ride gets a little smoother for a couple weeks before they really hit the toughest stretch of their conference schedule. The Gators play 3 straight games away from their turf. The rest of the schedule speaks for itself.

  

     To expect the same kind of season as last year would be a mistake. The Gators need another recruiting cycle under Muschamp before I can see them having back-to-back 10+ win seasons again. The potential is there, and the expectations are there, but I don't feel like they will be able to translate that into the results they've had recently. However, this will still be a dangerous Gator football team that will jump at any extra opportunity they get (In other words, it wouldn't be a shock if they did finish with 10+ wins).

 

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