The Florida Gators are expected to finish second in the SEC East, according to CBS Sports’ college football experts.
Georgia takes the top spot unanimously in the predicted order of finish but Florida has a firm grasp on second place as well. The rest of the East is a bit less rigid with Missouri and Kentucky battling for third and fourth and Tennesee and South Carolina a tier below at fifth and sixth. Vanderbilt received a near-unanimous last-place designation.
The Gators lost the three most important players on its offense from last year in the draft, so a unanimous second-place selection isn’t a terrible way to recover. Emory Jones looks to take the step forward as a starter and the defense almost has to be better than it was last year.
[exco_embed id=”e5869bc6-faf6-4b7a-8c06-b5610c96a8fe”]
Florida failed to be listed as either overrated or underrated by CBS Sports, which is likely a good thing. Typically, losing the pieces Florida did would lead to some uncertainty, but Florida coach Dan Mullen seems to have experts convinced that any step back the program takes in 2021 will be a minor one.
No team received a unanimous placement in the SEC West but the Alabama Crimson Tide was close to a full sweep of first place. LSU stole one first-place vote but looks to be solidly behind Texas A&M.
[lawrence-related id=51717,51701,51699,51690,51663]
[vertical-gallery id=51540]
Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.