2015
Florida Gators
College Football
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Odds and Schedule
You wouldn’t know it due to the media, but Florida actually finished 7-5 last season. Sure, it’s not the standards that are to be expected from the Gators, but it was an improvement from only Four wins in 2013. Will Muschamp is gone with Jim McElwain taking over, while the defense added Geoff Collins formerly of Mississippi State. This team still has problems and they weren’t great on the recruiting trail, but in the SEC East, anything can happen.
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What that means is that the Gators can beat teams like Georgia and Tennessee, two things they surprisingly did a season ago. They even battled against Florida State in Tallahassee.
There are immediate problems for Florida once again on the offensive end. They still don’t know who their quarterback is going to be. Treon Harris was serviceable after coming in last year, but still completed less than half of his passes. Redshirt freshman Will Grier was off to a better start than Harris in the spring. The offensive line is also a work in progress, which won’t help whoever is at QB. They lose Four starters and the only returning guy, Trip Thurman, missed all of spring practices due to a shoulder injury and his status is unknown for the fall. Without him, the Gators won’t have any experience on the line.
Florida also lacks experienced playmakers outside of receiver Demarcus Robinson (53 receptions, 7 TDs). Their receiving core will be different and the backfield will be lead by Kelvin Taylor, who had 116 carries last year. McElwain put together a nice run at Colorado State, but has his work cut out for him in his first season in Florida.
The Gators are in a little better situation on the defensive end, and Geoff Collins should put some energy back into the unit. Dante Fowler is gone, but they still have a few guys that can take that role on the edge in Bryan Cox and Alex McAlister. Linebackers Jarrad Davis and Antonio Morrison missed all of spring practices, but if they’re ready for the fall, the defense will be in a good position. All-American Vernon Hargreaves is back at cornerback as well.
The offense will get plenty of tests throughout the season, most notably against SEC West foes Ole Miss and LSU. Both of those could easily result in losses, but all of Florida’s SEC East matchups are up for the taking. Their true East road Games include Kentucky, Missouri and South Carolina. It’s hard to see the offense being worse than a year ago, but with an almost completely new offensive line, they’ll have some trouble in the trenches against SEC teams. Their early Game at Kentucky and SEC home opener against Tennessee need to be wins. Otherwise, expect another mediocre season in the six- to seven- win range.
2015 Florida Football Schedule
Sept. 5 vs. New Mexico State
Sept 12 vs. East Carolina
Sept. 19 at Kentucky
Sept. 26 vs. Tennessee
Oct. 3 vs. Ole Miss
Oct. 10 at Missouri
Oct. 17 at LSU
Oct. 31 at Georgia (EverBank Field)
Nov. 7 vs. Vanderbilt
Nov. 14 at South Carolina
Nov. 21 vs. FAU
Nov. 28 vs. Florida State