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There are 82 days before Georgia kicks-off versus Virginia in Atlanta on Sept. 7.
There are 82 days before Georgia kicks-off versus Virginia in Atlanta on Sept. 7.
Former Georgia wide receiver Michael Bennett (2010-2014) is most remembered for his critical catch versus Florida in 2011. Bennett caught a second quarter lob pass in the back of the endzone from Aaron Murray to bring the Bulldogs back into the game – which eventually ended with a Georgia win 24-20.
Bennett hauled in 134 passes for 1,607 yards and 17 touchdowns in his Georgia career.
College Football News Preview 2020: Previewing, predicting, and looking ahead to the Florida Gators season with what you need to know.
College Football News Preview 2020: Previewing, predicting, and looking ahead to the Florida Gators season with what you need to know.
– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak
– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Key Players, Games, Stats
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Schedule Analysis
– Florida Previews 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015
2019 Record: 11-2 overall, 6-2 in SEC
Head Coach: Dan Mullen, 3rd year, 21-5
2019 CFN Final Opinion Ranking: 5
2019 CFN Final Season Formula Ranking: 20
2019 CFN Preview Ranking: 4
No one knows what’s going to happen to the 2020 college football season. We’ll take a general look at where each team stands – doing it without spring ball to go by – while crossing our fingers that we’ll all have some well-deserved fun this fall. Hoping you and yours are safe and healthy.
– The offense still got the yards. The 2019 attack wasn’t as balanced as the 2018 version, but it was close to 2,000 yards better than the 2017 offense.
Over the last two seasons under Dan Mullen and offensive coordinators Billy Gonzales and John Hevesy, the Gators were scored over 400 points in back-to-back seasons. Before Mullen, the last time the program pushed past the 400-point mark was at the end of the Tim Tebow era in 2009.
There might not be any college football household names, but it’s going to be another good season with a whole lot of good parts in place. Now – even though it’ll take a little reworking – it’s time to be stronger than the fourth-best O in the SEC.
CFN in 60 Video: Florida Gators Preview
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– Kyle Trask wasn’t supposed to be the starting quarterback once Florida football became good again. Feleipe Franks – now at Arkansas – had all the tools and the talent, and Emory Jones was the star recruit who was supposed to take the program by storm. Trask was just a guy – he was a two-star recruit coming in at the same time as Franks in 2016.
Once Franks went down last year with a leg injury, Trask stepped up and looked the part of a next-level star, hitting 67% of his throw for almost 3,000 yards with 25 touchdowns and just seven picks with four rushing touchdowns. Now he’s the unquestioned No. 1 guy, but Jones is still a great-looking prospect who’s more than just a nice No. 2.
Leading receiver Van Jefferson is gone, but Kyle Pitts will be one of the nation’s best pass-catching tight ends – he led the team with 54 grabs with five scores – along with third-leading wide receiver Trevon Grimes and veterans Jacob Copeland and Kadarius Toney.
There’s promise in the receiving corps, but it’ll be more about Trask spreading the ball around – eight different Gators caught 20 passes or more. On the way are Penn State transfer Justin Shorter and Texas transfer Jordan Pouncey, but they have to be ruled eligible. True freshman Xzavier Henderson has the talent to someday be the No. 1 target.
– The backfield lost leading rusher Lamical Perine to the New York Jets, but it has a shot at being more dangerous. Junior Dameon Pierce was second on the team with just 305 yards and four scores, but he’s got the home run-hitting ability to do more. Ready to roll is former Miami superstar recruit Lorenzo Lingard, who was declared eligible by the NCAA for this year.
Up front is a line that had its down moments, but improved as last year went on. It’s not a deep line – at least going into the season – but it will get the job done.
It wasn’t great in pass protection, but it could hammer away when needed – for the most part. Nick Buchanan is gone at center, but everyone else is expected back. There aren’t any big-time stars here – it would be nice if a true killer could emerge – but there aren’t any massive concerns.
Florida Gators 2020 Preview: previewing, predicting, and looking ahead with what you need to know
Photo Credit: Bryan Lynn-USA TODAY Sports
Florida Gators 2020 Preview: previewing, predicting, and looking ahead with what you need to know
Photo Credit: Bryan Lynn-USA TODAY Sports
CFB magazine, Lindy’s, placed the Florida Gators ahead of Georgia football in their preseason rankings.
Lindy’s, which creates an annual preseason college football magazine, has released its top 25 for the 2020 season.
Georgia checked in at No. 7 in the rankings, which is the same spot that Athlon Sports, a Lindy’s competitor, had the Bulldogs.
Just like Athlon, though, Lindy’s had the Florida Gators ahead of the Dawgs.
Lindy’s ranked Florida No. 5. Athlon had the Gators at No. 6.
All the Florida love still does not make much sense to me, but it will also make it that much more enjoyable when Dan Mullen guides the Gators to a 9-3 season.
What has Florida done to be ranked ahead of Georgia? Finally come within three touchdowns of beating UGA last year?
Georgia returns the nation’s top defense, more than enough talent on offense, the No. 1 ranked recruiting class in the country and a Heisman hopeful at quarterback in Jamie Newman.
As far as the Florida hype goes…I’ll believe it when I see it.
Florida Gators head coach Dan Mullen says he expects to go undefeated in the 2020 college football season
This Wednesday, Florida Gators head coach Dan Mullen went on the “Pat McAfee Show” and discussed his expectations for the upcoming 2020 season.
“I expect us to go undefeated this year,” Mullen said on the show. “I’m not guaranteeing it, because I’ll be honest with you, I have two national championship rings here at Florida and we didn’t go undefeated in either of those two seasons. We still won a national championship.”
Mullen was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach during the Tebow era in Gainesville. He understands you don’t need to win every game to win it all, but still seems very confident heading into 2020.
Florida secured the No. 9 best recruiting class for 2020, locking down a number of the nation’s top prospects. Many experts have been predicting Florida as the SEC East victor for the upcoming season, which seems odd considering the Georgia Bulldogs have the No. 1 recruiting class in the nation for the second time in just three years, one of those years having the No. 2 class.
The Dawgs and Gators face off this season in Jacksonville on Halloween day, October 31st.
CBS college football writer picks the Florida Gators to win the SEC East over Georgia football, as well as SEC records.
College football experts have already begun to submit their predictions for the 2020 season.
CBS Sport’s college football writer and analyst Barrett Sallee posted his SEC win total predictions for 2020 on Friday, via Twitter.
.@BarrettSallee made some win total predictions for the SEC and he has a new winner atop the East 👀 pic.twitter.com/aQXUzsXsa6
— Cover 3 Podcast (@Cover3Podcast) May 29, 2020
Sallee has Georgia as the 2nd team in the SEC East, with Florida as No. 1. He also predicts the Dawgs to drop two games on the season, both being to SEC teams.
UGA has a rather tough schedule this season, playing Alabama away in Tuscaloosa. Georgia also has tough matchups against Auburn, Florida, Tennessee and Kentucky, all of which could be ranked meetings.
The Dawgs have won the past three matchups against the Florida Gators, and have a massive wave of new talent coming in with the No.1 recruiting class in the country for 2020. Florida had the No. 9 2020 recruiting class.
The Gators and Bulldogs face off on Halloween (Oct. 31) this year in Jacksonville.
In Athlon Sports’ SEC season preview, the Florida Gators are 2020 SEC East champions over Georgia football. Details and the full list here.
Last week, Athlon Sports released a preview of its annual magazine, a look at the top 25 teams in college football and a prediction of the final college football rankings at the end of the 2020 season.
The 3-time defending SEC East champion Georgia Bulldogs didn’t get much love. Florida was projected to finish the season at No. 6, ahead of Georgia at No. 7.
“Georgia has an edge in overall roster talent,” Athlon Sports wrote. “But the Gators have a small advantage in crossover play (at home versus LSU compared to at Alabama for the Bulldogs) and coach Dan Mullen’s team has more continuity in staff and scheme.”
While I agree that at home versus LSU is not as challenging as Alabama on the road, “continuity in staff and scheme” is a reach. In 2019, Georgia rolled into Jacksonville with a new offensive coordinator and still scored 24 points and secured their third win in a row versus the Gators.
A new aspect of Athlon Sports’ magazine this year is its SEC season preview, and sticking with its previous predictions, Athlon has Florida as the 2020 SEC East champions over Georgia.
Athlon predicted the final SEC standings and projected each team’s overall record as well.
See here:
#1 Florida, 11-2 overall, 7-1 SEC
#2 Georgia, 10-2 overall, 6-2 SEC
#3 Tennessee, 8-4 overall, 5-3 SEC
#4 Kentucky, 7-5 overall, 4-4 SEC
#5 South Carolina, 6-6 overall, 3-5 SEC
#6 Missouri, 5-7 overall, 2-6 SEC
#7 Vanderbilt, 3-9 overall, 0-8 SEC
#1 Alabama, 12-1 overall, 7-1 SEC
#2 LSU, 10-2 overall, 6-2 SEC
#3 Texas A&M, 9-3 overall, 5-3 SEC
#4 Auburn 9-3, overall, 5-3 SEC
#5 Ole Miss, 7-5 overall, 4-4 SEC
#6 Mississippi State, 6-6 overall, 2-6 SEC
#7 Arkansas, 3-9 overall, 0-8 SEC
Alabama over Florida
This year, Georgia has more offensive power behind transfer quarterback Jamie Newman and new offensive coordinator Todd Monken, with a record-setting returning defense.
Georgia fans, don’t worry seeing Florida in the headlines. Jacksonville is our home-away-from-home and it always works things out.
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Where does Georgia football rank in these preseason CFB rankings?
Now that optimism surrounding the 2020 college football season has begun to return, it’s now that time of year where it is acceptable to start looking through preseason rankings.
Pro Football Focus (PFF) released its college football power rankings for the 2020 season this week and was awfully kind to the Southeastern Conference, including nine SEC teams in its top-25.
Georgia checked in at No. 5 on the list, which is in the neighborhood of where most have had the Bulldogs this offseason. Anywhere between 4-6 is what I would consider realistic.
On Georgia, PFF wrote:
Georgia has to replace its two starting tackles (both first-round picks in 2020) and quarterback Jake Fromm, but does boast impressive sophomore receiver George Pickens (0.44 win shares in 2019).
The nine SEC teams include:
Alabama (3), LSU (4), Georgia (5), Florida (6), Auburn (10), Texas A&M (14), Tennessee (19), Kentucky (20), Mississippi State (25).
Just a few quick thoughts:
Florida at No. 6? I know a lot of sites have had the Gators high, but I’m not seeing it.
Auburn at No. 10 is also a pretty popular placement for the Tigers. And that’s fine, but don’t be surprised when they finish with five losses again.
But then I saw Tennessee at No. 19 and had to do a double-take. This is the same Tennessee that lost to Georgia State and BYU. As far as I’m considered they have no business being in the top-25.
Here’s the full top-ten:
1. Clemson
2. Ohio State
3. Alabama
4. LSU
5. Georgia
6. Florida
7. Oklahoma
8. Notre Dame
9. Penn State
10. Auburn
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We ranked all the SEC head coaches, from Georgia football’s Kirby Smart, to Arkansas’ Sam Pittman, to Florida’s Dan Mullen.
The SEC is loaded with head coaching talent as we head into the 2020 college football season.
You have your usuals – Nick Saban, Kirby Smart, Gus Malzahn, Ed Orgeron, etc.
But then you have your familiar, or in some cases not-so-familiar, yet new faces: Lane Kiffin, Mike Leach, Sam Pittman, Eli Drinkwitz.
Ranking the SEC head coaches heading into the 2020 season is as hard as it’s ever been, and that’s because of all these new hirings. But it’s also because Jeremy Pruitt waited until October to start winning games in Tennessee last year. It’s because Ed Orgeron took a loaded roster and won a national title. Because Gus Malzahn and Auburn always have the talent but can’t seem to win the big ones. Or because, despite a 4-8 season, Will Muschamp was able to knock off Kirby Smart and Georgia.
Related: 2020 Georgia schedule with game-by-game score predictions
14. Sam Pittman, Arkansas
I would have loved to get Pittman into a higher spot on this list, but what is there to go off of? His last head coaching job came in 1992 and 1993 when he led Hutchinson Community College to an 11–9–1 record over two seasons.
I am 100% rooting for Pittman to succeed in his first season as head coach of the Arkansas Razorbacks. It won’t be easy, and this is a team that will likely finish with at least five losses for the first few years, but that’s not necessarily a terrible thing as long as they play hard.
Arkansas may not field the most talented teams in the SEC, but if there’s one thing I’m certain of it’s that the former UGA O-Line coach will make sure his guys fight harder than anybody.
13. Eli Drinkwitz, Missouri
Drinkwitz gets the No. 13 spot because of what he was able to do at App State last year. In his first season as a head coach, he led the Mountaineers to a 12-1 record and a Sun Belt championship.
But that’s not the SEC. It’s going to be a rocky road ahead for Drinkwitz, as Mizzou will definitely not be one of the more talented teams in the league for a few years.
12. Derek Mason, Vanderbilt
I often find myself rooting for Vanderbilt and Mason.
He took over at Vandy when James Franklin left for Penn State, and though it’s been tough at times, you get the feeling that Commodore fans actually look forward to their seasons.
11. Will Muschamp, South Carolina
If Muschamp had not beaten Georgia last year, he maybe would not even be on this list at all.
But he won and that probably saved his job. He coaches up a good defense, but South Carolina will need to crank up its recruiting efforts if it wants to start contending in the SEC East. Another season with no bowl game may put an end to Muschamp’s head coaching career with the Gamecocks.
10. Lane Kiffin, Ole Miss
Kiffin is a good football coach, there’s no denying that. No. 10 is pretty low for an offensive genius like him. But this conference is simply loaded.
Kiffin did a great job at Florida Atlantic, but I still need to see him win consistently at a Power 5 school.
Athlon Sports released its 2020 college football top-25 and projected the Florida Gators to finish above the Georgia Bulldogs.
Athlon Sports recently released its list of the top-25 college football teams going into the 2020 football season, saying the list specifically represents where they think these teams will finish the season.
From Athlon:
This is not a preseason ranking of teams going into the season. Instead, this ranking takes into account where we project teams to finish after the national championship in January
The SEC is represented six times. Alabama is at No. 2 behind projected national champion Clemson. LSU is at No. 8, Texas A&M No. 11 and Auburn at No. 13.
Most notably, Georgia, the three-time SEC East defending champion, is ranked at No. 7, behind Florida at No. 6.
Athlon Sports stated its reason for putting the Gators ahead of the Bulldogs, even though Florida hasn’t won in Jacksonville in three years, is because of the SEC crossover games and staff continuity.
“Georgia has an edge in overall roster talent,” Athlon Sports wrote. “But the Gators have a small advantage in crossover play (at home versus LSU compared to at Alabama for the Bulldogs) and coach Dan Mullen’s team has more continuity in staff and scheme.”
I suppose Athlon Sports has a point, a Joe Burrow-less LSU at home won’t be as tough as Alabama in Tuscaloosa. However, the SEC East runs through Jacksonville and Georgia has held the keys for the last three years.
And as far as continuity goes, the Bulldogs came into the 2019 season with a new offensive coordinator and still took care of business in Jacksonville.
Georgia and Florida meet this year on Halloween from TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville, Florida.
Here is Athlon Sports’ projected top-10 teams in college football for 2020:
#1 Clemson
#2 Alabama
#3 Ohio State
#4 Oklahoma
#5 Penn State
#6 Florida
#7 Georgia
#8 LSU
#9 Notre Dame
#10 Oregon
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