Over the course of the next several weeks, the SoBros Network crew will be going around the landscape of the SEC, team by team, previewing the upcoming American tackle football season. Up next, our 2021 Florida preview!
2021 Florida Preview
If you’re a Florida Gators fan, I don’t know how you look at all the turnover on this offense and don’t get at least a little bit unnerved by it. With all the stars aligned in 2020, it’s not exactly like Dan Mullen had this squad looking crisp down the stretch anyway. Florida’s season was essentially over after they fell just short in a thrilling SEC Championship contest against the Alabama Crimson Tide. At least, it felt that way judging by how they were smoked by the Oklahoma Sooners in the Cotton Bowl. Thankfully, Mullen will get the chance to wipe the slate completely clean with Emory Jones, the strong-armed dual-threat quarterback that should bring a completely different dynamic to the Gators offense.
There are some serious questions surrounding who is going to make the plays down in Gainesville – as Kyle Pitts, Kadarius Toney, and Trevon Grimes are all gone. When you look at just how historically explosive that 2020 offense was, some regression was to be expected. But, that’s a lot of turnover of really talented players to overcome. I wouldn’t be surprised to see this unit take some real time to jell.
With the offense undergoing some changes, that’s going to put even more pressure on an already questionable defense. Why Mullen has faith that Todd Grantham can turn the defense around after allowing 30.8 points per game a season ago is beyond me. But, there are some pieces to work with – a promising front seven and cornerback Kaiir Elam. All in all, I think the Gators look like a good regression candidate in 2021, but with Mullen at the helm, you can’t ever really count this team out.
2021 Gators Schedule
Saturday, 9/4: vs. Florida Atlantic – A soft opener to get the juices flowing – a veritable preseason game, plain and simple.
Saturday, 9/11: @ USF – The Bulls will have a veteran team, and they’ll be playing at home, but even if the Gators aren’t quite firing on all cylinders just yet, their talent should overwhelm South Florida.
Saturday, 9/18: vs. Alabama – To be fair, Alabama has plenty of question marks of their own on offense entering 2021. I wouldn’t just shrug this off as an easy Tide win. This one could be a matter of who can get it together the quickest.
Saturday, 9/25: vs. Tennessee – I don’t hate the Josh Heupel hire, but I don’t think he’s the quite the “go-into-Florida-and-win-in-the-swamp-in-the-first-month-of-my-first-season” type. I expect Florida to finish September at least 3-1.
Saturday, 10/2: @ Kentucky – This is a game that the Gators could very well lose if they haven’t sorted things out on offense just yet. As we stand here in June, I’m leaning Gators, but given this is in Lexington, I think it’s anything but an easy layup for ’em.
Saturday, 10/9: vs. Vanderbilt – Oh, honey….no. Not yet for Vanderbilt, anyway.
Saturday, 10/16: @ LSU – I thought LSU was a prime regression candidate entering 2020, and believe it or not, I think they could regress again in 2021. That said, they weren’t exactly world beaters when they beat Florida a season ago, so…..*shrugs*
Saturday, 10/23: BYE
Saturday, 10/30: vs. Georgia (in Jacksonville) – I expect that stout Bulldogs defense to feast throughout 2021, including in this game. Kirby Smart has had this Georgia program so close to a National Championship before. I think they’ll be out for blood this season in an SEC East that isn’t looking particularly strong.
Saturday, 11/6: @ South Carolina – The bottom fell out for the Gamecocks in 2020, and Will Muschamp was sent packing for it. But, even though this team is obviously in rebuild mode, there’s a lot of talent to be excited about. Given the state of this division, South Carolina could be a surprise in 2021, but I don’t expect them to win this game.
Saturday, 11/13: vs. Samford – Gotta get that tune-up game in before the big showdown against Mizzou, am I right?!?!
Saturday, 11/20: @ Missouri – I like Connor Bazelak and the feisty Mizzou Tigers. Getting to play this one at home is a huge bonus. Don’t be surprised to see them pull the upset.
Saturday, 11/27: vs. Florida State – Pfffffft….come on now. FSU isn’t winning this game.
Prediction
I have been really high on the Gators entering the last two seasons, but that confidence is shaky at best entering 2021. Mullen will have to undergo a bit of a rebuild on offense in order to be successful, and they’ll have to hope Grantham can get things right on defense. If they can’t do that, they’re going to struggle to hold serve in the SEC. The wild thing is that they have a quarterback who can win you a few games, and overall, they have the talent to win 10 and be in the College Football Playoff discussion yet again. I could see this team pushing for the SEC Championship late in the season, but this may shock some people….I could also see 7-5 in this team’s forecast.
OTHER SEC 2021 SEASON PREVIEWS
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network, and a Dogs Playing Poker on velvet connoisseur. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD and #BeBetter. “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley
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