The college football offseason is almost over as we are halfway through July. The season will get going in about a month and a half, and college football fans everywhere are eager for the new beginning. College football fever is rampant across the country as we get closer to the season, but also because of the new EA Sports NCAA 25 video game that just came out last Monday. All in all, it’s an exciting time to be a college football fan, and one fan base that is excited for the season is Florida football fans. The Gators have a big season ahead of them.
This college football season is going to be a big one for a number of reasons. The sport is going through big changes, and some of those changes are going to be seen for the first time this season. Let’s take a look at what some of them are.
First off, there are going to be some new rules seen this year in college football, and some fans aren’t really in favor of them. Perhaps the biggest change is the addition of the two-minute warning. Fans have already started getting sick at all of the commercials that are happening in today’s era of college football, and the two-minute warning is another way for tv networks to get more commercial times in.
The bigger changes, however, come with conference realignment and the expanded College Football Playoff. College football is going to look completely different next year because of those two things. California schools playing in the Atlantic Coast Conference? Yeah, things are changing.
Conference realignment has shaken things up big time in college football. The power five is no longer a thing as the Pac-12 is essentially dead. Every team left for a new conference except for Oregon State and Washington State. Those two teams have scheduling alliances with the Mountain West.
Every other Pac-12 school found a new home. Utah, Colorado, Arizona and Arizona State are now in the Big 12. Oregon, Oregon State, USC and UCLA joined the Big Ten. Lastly, Cal and Stanford joined the ACC (makes a ton of sense, right?).
The other big change with conferences comes in the SEC. Oklahoma and Texas are both leaving the Big 12 and they will join the SEC. The Big Ten and the SEC are loaded with good teams and seem on the verge of forming two super conferences.
This season, we will also see 12 teams make the College Football Playoff. For about a month, the College Football Playoff will be happening. Some people aren’t in favor of the big expansion, but there will be more marquee college football games, and it’s hard to be too upset about that.
All in all, this is going to be one of the biggest college football seasons of all time. The game is changing, and this is the start of a new era.
This is going to be a difficult season for Florida football
This is a huge year for Florida football and head coach Billy Napier. The Gators have been nowhere near where they should be in recent years, and if they have another bad season in 2024, Napier could lose his job. Last season was a bad one for Florida as they missed out on bowl season because of a 5-7 record. Obviously, Gators fans want to see their team do more than just get to a bowl game, but that seems like a realistic goal for Napier and his squad this season. With the schedule that they have, it would actually be a pretty impressive feat to win six games.
The Florida football schedule is the most difficult one in the country. The Gators play eight teams that could be ranked in the preseason top-25, and they could end up having nine games against ranked teams. This season, they have to play Miami, Texas A&M, Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia, Texas, LSU, Ole Miss and Florida State. Their last five games could legitimately all be against top-10 teams. That schedule is insane.
As you can see, getting to a bowl game would be something to celebrate based on this schedule and where the Gators were at last year. If they do get a bowl game, it will mean that they had at least a few impressive wins.
Florida football has to find a way to win some difficult games this year, or Billy Napier will be in some trouble. Here are three predictions for their 2024 campaign.
Florida football will not make a bowl game
Unfortunately, Billy Napier has done nothing with the Florida football team to show us that he can win six games on that schedule. It's not like the Gators have significantly more talent on their team this year compared to last, and they couldn't even win six games with a much easier schedule in 2023. This is a huge year for Napier and the Gators, and it is unfortunate that their schedule works out like that. However, it does present them with some great opportunities. Don't count on Florida taking advantage of them, though.
Florida football will go 3-9
Sorry Gators fans, but there just aren't many games on that schedule that you should be looking forward to. Samford looks like a win and the Gators should be able to handle UCF at home, but they will be in danger of losing just about every game on that schedule. Let's go with 3-9 for their regular season record, but it wouldn't be surprising at all if Florida ended up with just one or two wins.
Billy Napier will be fired after the season
A 3-9 season isn't going to cut it in a year like this for Billy Napier. Florida football is traditionally one of the better programs in college football, and their fans deserve better than missing out on bowl season. Anything less than six wins is unacceptable this season, and it's just really hard to see Florida hitting that mark. It looks like this could very well be the last season for Napier in Gainesville.
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