Florida football’s 2025 campaign kicks off in just over a week and the Gator Nation is amped, as evidenced by the program’s 13th-straight home sellout for the home opener against the Long Island Sharks.
The upcoming road for Billy Napier and his team is a long and arduous one, which many believe is the toughest among FBS schools. Coming off an 8-5 finish in 2024 that included the first bowl victory since 2019, expectations are high among the fanbase but are tempered in most of the national sports media.
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Ahead of the opening salvo that the Week 0 slate has to offer, USA TODAY Sports writers Paul Myerberg and Jim Sergent projected the regular-season records for all 136 FBS teams. Here is what they project for Florida.
USA TODAY Sports’ projection for Florida football
Myerberg and Sergent concluded that the Gators will go 4-4 in Southeastern Conference play and 2-1 against its non-conference opponents for a 7-5 finish to the regular season — the same mark as last fall and consistent with the projections offered by The Athletic.
Presumably, that one non-conference loss comes against the Miami Hurricanes in Coral Gables during Week 4, while the SEC defeats are not clarified.
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USA TODAY Sports’ take on the SEC
“The rowdiest conference in the FBS could end up with any one of Texas, Georgia, Alabama or even LSU winning the SEC and earning the top spot in the final playoff rankings,” they begin.
“The Longhorns and Arch Manning will draw plenty of attention. Alabama will be better in coach Kalen DeBoer’s second year and could end up the best team in the country. Big years for coaches Hugh Freeze and Sam Pittman are not projected to go very well.”
The pair has 13 of the conference’s 16 member schools finishing at .500 or better and ostensibly earning a bowl game bid during the postseason.
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USA TODAY Sports 2025 preseason SEC football predictions
|
TEAM |
SEC RECORD |
OVERALL RECORD |
|---|---|---|
|
Texas |
7-1 |
11-1 |
|
Georgia |
6-2 |
10-2 |
|
Alabama |
6-2 |
10-2 |
|
LSU |
6-2 |
9-3 |
|
Oklahoma |
5-3 |
9-3 |
|
Tennessee |
5-3 |
9-3 |
|
Texas A&M |
5-3 |
8-4 |
|
Florida |
4-4 |
7-5 |
|
South Carolina |
4-4 |
7-5 |
|
Mississippi |
4-4 |
8-4 |
|
Missouri |
4-4 |
8-4 |
|
Vanderbilt |
3-5 |
7-5 |
|
Auburn |
3-5 |
6-6 |
|
Arkansas |
1-7 |
4-8 |
|
Kentucky |
1-7 |
4-8 |
|
Mississippi State |
0-8 |
3-9 |
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This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Florida football’s regular-season record predicted by USA TODAY Sports
