As the 2022 college football season approaches, most experts have Alabama and Georgia seemed poised to battle it out for the SEC Championship once again. But we can’t help but ask the question: what are Florida’s chances of taking home the trophy in [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag]’s first year?
The answer might surprise you.
CBS Sports’ David Cobb recently went through what he believes to be the most undervalued teams in each conference heading into the season, and Florida’s odds to take the SEC are insanely low. The betting odds listed by Cobb have Florida at +5000 to win the conference, which he finds to be a bit ridiculous considering the Gators took Alabama down to the wire last season before everything fell apart.
That’s not to say that everyone who bets on college sports should go in and put money on the Gators, but rather that there’s a more realistic path to the conference championship for Florida than oddsmakers perceive.
How does Napier do the unthinkable in year one? Beat Georgia, obviously. The stretch of LSU, Georgia and Texas A&M should be the toughest leg of Florida’s season, and winning two of three — beating Georgia needs to be one of them — would put Florida at least in the conversation for a conference championship barring any major upsets.
Is it likely? No, but the odds being set at +5000 seems like a mistake. If [autotag]Anthony Richardson[/autotag] lives up to the elite potential most experts agree he has, then Florida could have a real shot. Of course, Kirby Smart’s team looked rather unstoppable last year, so maybe the number isn’t so farfetched.
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