Billy Napier hasn’t taken the field as head coach of Florida’s football program, but CBS Sports is already projecting the former Louisiana coach will have a successful season.
According to CBS’s Jerry Palm, the Gators are projected to play in the ReliaQuest Bowl on Jan. 2 in Tampa, Florida, against Big Ten West team Wisconsin.
The traditional New Year’s Day bowl games will be played on Jan. 2 this season because the holiday falls on a Sunday, when the NFL will play its Week 17 matchups.
Bowl games themselves are businesses that seek to fill their respective stadiums while also bringing in dollars for the local economies. It’s more likely a bowl game will choose a big brand whose fan base is either close to the site of the game or has a history of traveling to the game in large numbers to maximize its profits.
Because of this, a bowl game set in Tampa with SEC and Big Ten tie-ins would be thrilled to have the Gators (Tampa being a hotbed of Florida fans and in driving distance for fans across the state) and the Badgers (a fan base that has a history of showing up in droves to postseason games in warm weather locations) play in the game.
For those who have never heard of the ReliaQuest Bowl (you are not alone), it’s the bowl game formerly known as the Outback Bowl. This high level bowl game is one of the better bowl games an SEC team can play in outside of being in the College Football Playoff or the Sugar Bowl.
CBS projects Alabama and Georgia to make the playoff, Texas A&M to play in the Sugar Bowl, and Tennessee to play in the Citrus Bowl (the top SEC bowl after the CFP and Sugar). It seems CBS is projecting the Gators to finish third in the SEC East (behind Georgia and Tennessee) and somewhere in the range of 7-9 regular season wins.
While those who want a free bloomin’ onion from Outback may not be on the Gators’ side in this potential bowl matchup, it should be considered a win for Napier if he can get the team to a January bowl game in his first season in charge.
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