I always like to start by copying what I wrote in last
year’s post!
So, I’m predicting a 9-3 year optimistically. I could
easily see it being 7-5 with a couple of bad breaks here or there. I think the
Gators will do better in a bowl game this year because they won’t have as many
guys sitting it out but for me the only bowl games that count are the ones in
the playoffs. The rest are just glorified spring games for those coming back
next year. Let’s hope the expansion of the playoffs helps more teams have
something to really play for in the last few weeks of the year.
Well, so much for me knowing what I’m writing about! They
lost the last 5 to miss out on a bowl game again by finishing 5-7. The loss to
Arkansas at home was hard to fathom. And if Mertz was healthy, they would have
beat a banged-up FSU, but they didn’t and that is football. Let’s start off this
year like all years where everyone is undefeated and going to play for the
championship!
A really good on paper Miami team shows up in the Swamp for
a late afternoon hot one to start off the season. I’ve got some friends who are
true believers in the Canes who are planning on calling me to rub it in when
the U gets the W. I’ll answer that call if it comes, and it could because we
don’t really know a lot about either team. Every team looks great in the
spring. But I believe that the Gators will surprise some folks and win this one.
Napier and the staff have been really good about having a solid game plan for
the first game of the season. They have all summer to get it ready, so they
should! At home, in the heat, with the crowd at full throat because it is the
Canes, gives the Gators an extra touchdown. They will need it too! Gators win a
close one.
My alma mater comes in for the second game. The last time
the Samford Bulldogs played in the Swamp they scored 52 points on the Gators.
They still lost 70-52! This Samford team is not that good, and the Gator
defense will be better than that late November day in ‘21. Don’t be surprised
if it is closer than you want it to be in the first half. The Gators should take
care of business in the second half and pull away for a comfortable victory.
The third game against Texas A&M is a tricky game to
pick in the summer. I’d love to wait to see how the Aggies look with a new
coaching staff in place. They have always had talent. You just never know what you
are going to get with a first-year coach. Because it is at home, I’m going to
give the nod to the Gators, but this could be one of the ones I miss badly!
Traveling to the booming metropolis of Starkvegas is never
an easy journey. Maybe it’s the hypnotizing sound of all those cow bells, but
the Gators traditionally don’t fare well when they play Mississippi State on
the road. Again they play a new coach, so you just don’t know what kind of team
they will be in the summer. By week four we should know a lot more about them.
I still think the Gators win to go 4-0. They will need to be 4-0 if Napier is
going to survive because the last two years of late season losses are a real
thing!
The fighting Knights of UCF show up for an in-state rivalry
game. At least from their perspective it is. And that is a dangerous state. The
Gators need to show up like it is a rivalry game as well if they want to win!
UCF will be a good football team again. They will be well coached. I don’t
think it will be enough to get the win for them, but it will be another nail
biter for UF fans in the Swamp.
At 5-0 the Gators will be getting some national attention.
Then they head to Knoxville. That’s where all that nonsense will stop. If the
Vol quarterback is as good as all the creamsicle fans believe, the Gator
defense will get shredded again on Rocky Top. I don’t know if he is that good,
but I think he’s good enough to get by the Gators. The Gators fall to the Vols
and come back down to earth at 5-1.
UF always schedules Homecoming in October. I’m not sure why
we didn’t pick UCF for that game, but it seems like we want to have an SEC foe
in that space. This year the honor falls to Kentucky. The team really shouldn’t
need a reason to get up for the Wildcats, given the recent outcomes. I don’t
think Kentucky will be as good as last year. I think the Gator defense will be better
this year. So, I think the Gators should win this one at home in another close
game. For my UK friends, I would have picked the Gators to lose in Lexington.
I don’t think this year’s Georgia team will be as good as
last year’s team, but they will still be good! Until the Gators can get out of
the head space where they give the Dogs 14 or more points on stupid plays, I
just can’t pick them to win the rivalry game in Jacksonville. I think this game
will be closer than some believe. I would love to be wrong on this one, but I
think the Gators will cross back over the river with a 6-2 record.
The Gators don’t have time to dwell on the loss long. This
time they get on a plane and travel to Austin for the first SEC matchup with
the Longhorns. A bunch of Gator fans will make the trip to say they were there
the first time we played them as conference foes. It will be a long trip back
home for them. I think the Longhorns will handle the Gators in the Lonestar
State!
There may not be a bigger two-game stretch in the career of
Coach Billy Napier than the next two. The Gators will need to win against the
LSU Tigers in a big way! A third straight loss might lead to another late
season spiral that will cost him his job. It’s not going to be easy, but I don’t
think LSU will be as good because I don’t think they will have a Heisman level quarterback
again. Daniels was the difference last year and I think Mertz will be the
difference this year. I can see this one going either way depending on who
turns the football over the most. I’m putting an asterisk by this game to hedge
my predictions. They will either be 7-3 or 6-4, if all the early games happened
as I think they will.
Lame Kitten brings his Ole Miss Rebels or Black Bears into
the Swamp for a high noon showdown. I think the Gators will have a better
football team than most people believe. I’m just not sure where their heads
will be at this point in the season. I’m going to give the win to the Gators because
I really don’t like Lame. But if the Gators lose to LSU, I think that one loss
could quickly become two! I hope our guys read the promise plaque outside
before they go inside the stadium!
The Gators travel up North on 75 and west on 10 until they
arrive in the tinker toy stadium with a new upgraded façade. I think FSU will
have a big chip on their shoulders and a pretty good team to go with it waiting
on the Gators. The home crowd will make the difference. I think the Gators will
lose again to all three of their rivals. That’s not going to sit well with some
of the fans but an 8-4 or 7-5 record with this schedule should be enough to
keep Napier’s job.
However, if they stumble on some games they should win and
don’t, I wouldn’t be surprised if they move on from Billy Napier if the Gators
don’t make a bowl game this year. I think they have some really good players on
the team this year and I’m really excited to see what D.J. can become in the
next years. I just hope we get to watch him develop as a Gator. I’ve met him
and I’ve seen the commitment to putting the time into to be great that he has
displayed. He really does have the “IT” factor that you need to build a great
program. Let’s just hope Gator boosters will see the future and realize that it
is tied to keeping Coach Napier one more year!
