The second year of the Billy Napier era is nearly at hand with less than two weeks until the season-opener in Salt Lake City against the Utah Utes. The overall consensus has been that Florida football faces one of the toughest schedules in the college sport, making the task of snapping a stretch of two seasons under the .500 mark.
Both the Southeastern Conference and non-conference slates look to be bruisers for the Orange and Blue, with the SEC maintaining its perch above the rest of the Power Five when it comes to the strength of competition. Additionally, two of Florida’s four non-conference games come against a pair of teams in the top 14 of the preseason Coaches Poll.
The Athletic’s Kennington Smith III and Seth Emerson took a look at the SEC from top to bottom, previewing each team while dividing them into five tiers based on the strength of the program. The Gators earned a spot in the third tier, with the following justification.
If this were about the past or the future, the Gators would merit being a tier or two higher. But coming off a 5-7 season and going on three straight head coaches who were fired, things are murky in the Swamp. There are still the resources to return to the days of Steve Spurrier and Urban Meyer. Even each of the three coaches who followed Meyer had at least one very good season. The problem has been sustaining anything, and now the Gators are hoping Billy Napier, using the Saban blueprint, can get them back to relevance before the days of Meyer become too distant a memory. That’s why it’s key for Napier to offer some reason for hope this year. A winning record at minimum. A consistently competitive team with a big win or two would be a good way to head into 2024.
The Georgia Bulldogs, Alabama Crimson Tide and LSU Tigers comprise the first tier, while the Tennessee Volunteers and Texas A&M Aggies make up the second level of the conference. Florida is joined by the Kentucky Wildcats, Ole Miss Rebels and Auburn Tigers in Tier 3, with the Arkansas Razorbacks, Missouri Tigers, South Carolina Gamecocks and Mississippi State Bulldogs in the fourth tier.
The Vanderbilt Commodores sit alone in the fifth and final tier of the SEC, according to the authors.
Florida opens its 2023 schedule on the road against Utah on Aug. 31, with a kickoff time of 8 p.m. EDT.
[lawrence-auto-related count=5 category=1368]
Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.