Maybe it's just me, but I think the problem isn't the schedule, it's being ranked 59th. You want to be the best, beat the best. No team will have more opportunity.
We should be a better team last year if that were true.. many qb’s transferred to programs .i think Mertz is a top 10 qb but we aren’t a top ten team. Definitely the most important position but the entire teams is what really counts.
The way our defense played last year we don’t deserve to be on any preseason top ten lists. It’s a luxury that a rebuilding football team shouldn’t enjoy. Hopefully we will EARN our way onto some of these lists and be there at the END of the season, which is the only time that counts for anything.
Fair response. But we never seem to remember that other schools ALSO want to improve. The fan in me is optimistic about our portal additions.
The top programs have no problem finding a portal quarterback if they’re five star quarterback doesn’t work out. These NFL prospect quarterbacks, though aren’t often transferring in to mediocre teams.
7. Garrett Nussmeier, QB, LSU: After waiting patiently for four years, Nussmeier finally got to start for the Tigers in their ReliaQuest Bowl win over Wisconsin, where he won the game's MVP award. Now he'll try to become the third LSU quarterback to win the Heisman in the past six years. No pressure, kid.
We’re gonna be in the spotlight A LOT. If we lose I’m not looking fwd to the narrative of “Billy can get them here but he’s on the hot seat cuz he can’t coach em” But on the other hand - if we win… we have a chance to not only shift the narrative to “program builder” but see the domino effect of recruits. It HAS to be the latter because I don’t think Billy can sell any other recruits on hope
I, myself, see all the positive events through the portal as a good omen! We are definitely going to be better. So, in all kinds of weather, it's great to be a Florida Gator!!!
The schedule is the problem for two reasons. 1) At the end of the year everyone is focused on who is undefeated or at one loss. There is very little consideration for who played the toughest schedule. FSU would have jumped a one loss Alabama or Georgia team had their starting QB had not gone down (with their joke of a schedule). Uf would most likely go 13-0 this year with that schedule. 2) It is not the difficulty of the schedule on paper is the problem. All real competitors want to play the best. It is physicality of the schedule that is very hard to deal with. It is very hard to play at a very high level every week at stay healthy physically and mentally. It is very hard on the players bodies and makes it difficult to fully heal. It is like a prize fighter you have to navigate the schedule with their mental and physical well being in mind. I'm not sure why the schedule is set it up like this, but it does not seem fair that one team has a much easier path than another team to a championship or at least give a much bigger consideration to the team that walked a much harder road.
Going undefeated will probably be less easier, especially in the SEC and Big Ten. For example, I doubt Oregon goes undefeated. I think the elite teams like Georgia and Texas will even have a tough time going 12-0.
By the way, Samford laid down 52 points against us just three years ago. Probably the most concerning "win" I've ever seen in the Swamp.
I have to laugh at this. I can count seven teams on FSU's 2023 schedule better than Arkansas. Several were as good as South Carolina, whom we nearly lost to, and Kentucky. Until we see them perform as a team, we are no better than we were last year. Dontcha think schedules are more difficult BECAUSE of their physicality? For many years, our schedule has been difficult than other SEC teams except USCe because we always play FSU every year, while Georgia gets to play Georgia Tech, for example. Going back to 2010, these are the number of 9+ win P5 OOC opponents each SEC team played in the regular season: USCe: 13 (5-8) Florida: 11 (2-9) Auburn: 8 (3-5) Georgia: 8 (5-3) LSU: 7 (4-3) Tennessee: 6 (2-4) Kentucky: 5 (2-3) Alabama: 4 (3-1) Miss State: 4 (2-2) Ole Miss: 3 (0-3) Mizzou: 3 (1-2) Texas A&M: 3 (0-3) Vandy: 3 (0-3) Arkansas: 2 (0-2)
On3 chimes in. Florida Gators’ ceiling 8-4 Let’s get games I just don’t see Florida winning out of the way, they’ll stay the same in both cases. I don’t see Florida leaving Jacksonville or Austin with wins over Georgia and Texas. But if we look at the schedule, the Gators play well at home and, this season, they’ll get seven of their 12 games in the Swamp. That includes Miami in the season opener. The 2024 opener features a pair of sub .500 head coaches who were hired in the same offseason. It’s a historic rivalry, one each of their fanbases will have a hard time forgetting or forgiving the losing coach for. The Gators will get Miami at home in a game they can and should win. We’ll add Samford and Texas A&M — which has a new coaching staff and will be playing its first road game of the season after opening at home against Notre Dame and McNeese. I have no confidence in Florida on the road. The Gators are 2-10 when they play away from Ben Hill Griffin Stadium under Billy Napier. That being said, Florida’s first road game is against a Mississippi State team with a new coaching staff. Make it five wins. Florida Gators’ floor 3-9 If you don’t want to read any further, I get it. Stop now. This is a doomsday scenario where the Gators lose to Miami, UCF, and Florida State. No State championships here. We’ll give Florida wins over Samford, Texas A&M, and Mississippi State. Other than that this is a scenario where things go bad quickly. Whether it be by injury or just the weight of an unrelenting schedule breaking the Gators, things go bad quickly and stay bad here. To start, this scenario sees Florida lose the last six games of the season. The five-game run in November is brutal and those losses will stack up quickly as the ball gets rolling down the hill with Georgia in Jacksonville. The Gators have been terrible in November under Napier with a 2-6 record and have lost their last six games in November.
I'm not clear on what your point is. Would you rather have a realistic schedule that gives you an opportunity at a championship or a very difficult schedule that make the odds of a championship very small? Also, Arkansas would be one of the top teams in the ACC, if they in it.
