After a season filled with many ups and downs, the Florida Gators finished 2020 with an 8-4 record. It may not have been their best, but it is imminent that Dan Mullen and company are here to say. In 2021, the Gators will be lead by junior quarterback Emory Jones, who has already shown to have great potential. Although Jones has big shoes to fill, expect him to be a great leader on this 2021 Florida team. The bigger question will be how their defense fairs, which seemed non-existent in 2020. If they wish to compete against the big dawgs of the SEC in 2021, the defense will need to improve greatly. Defense still wins championships, even in today’s world of college football.
The Gators 2021 schedule order may not be completely set as of now, but their opponents are. At first glance, every game is winnable for the Gators, although some are much tougher than others. If they wish to make it to Atlanta and eventually Indianapolis, they will have to improve from last year.
Easiest opponents listed first; Hardest opponents listed last
12. Samford
Almost every schedule comes with its cupcakes, and the Gators 2021 schedule is no different. Samford is an FCS school from the Southern Conference, which is not even close to being on the level of the SEC. Expect for this one to be over by the end of the first half, as the Gators will dominate in stride. In terms of when this game will be played, expect for it to be either towards the very start or end of the season. Non-conference play usually does occur towards the start of the season, although the SEC has been notorious for playing FCS games later on. Either way, this will be a cupcake in a sea of competitive games for the Gators.
11. USF
Although South Florida is not an FCS program, their football team seems to be in ruins as of right now. After boasting an 11-2 season in 2016, the Bulls have been on an unfortunate steady decline. Due to a 4-8 season under former HC Charlie Strong in 2019, the Bulls hired Jeff Scott as their new head coach. However, the program took a turn for the worse, as South Florida went 1-8 and had arguably its worst season in program history. To sum it all up, this Bulls football team has shown no promise over the past few years. Expect this to be an easy early-season game for the Gators.
10. Vanderbilt
Let’s face it, Vanderbilt is not a football school and most likely will never be. With a record of 0-9 in 2020, the Commodores managed to have one of the worst seasons of any team in SEC history. Obviously, it came as no surprise to most college football fans when previous HC Derek Mason was fired. With an overall record of 27-55 as the Commodores head coach, Mason proved that he was not SEC material. Enter Clark Lea, who previously served as the defensive coordinator of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Lea will have an extremely tough task as the new Vanderbilt head coach, as the Commodores have minimal talent compared to other SEC teams. For that reason, expect Vanderbilt to be the same old team that they have been as of recently. The Gators roll in this one, as Vanderbilt will not be able to keep up.
9. Florida Atlantic
Under previous head coach Lane Kiffin, the Florida Atlantic Owls achieved a record of 11-3 and won the Conference USA in 2019. Although the conference is known as one of the worst in college football, it was still a major achievement for the program. Unfortunately for the Owls, Kiffin moved on to coach at Ole Miss in 2020. The program hired Willie Taggart as their new head coach, who previously coached at Florida State. Although the Owls still had a decent season in 2020, they took a major step back, going 5-4 on the season. Expect for them to be average at best next year. This one may be closer than some of the other games that are lower on the list, but Florida should still be able to pull away with ease.
8. @ South Carolina
South Carolina is by no means a guaranteed win, but after having one of the worst seasons in recent program history in 2020, the Gamecocks should be one of the easiest games for the Gators. After a dumpster fire of a season, previous head coach Will Muschamp found himself out of a job. Shane Beamer, who is the son of previous Virginia Tech head coach Frank Beamer, now finds himself as the new HC of this Gamecocks program. Hiring Beamer should be a step in the right direction for South Carolina. However, the Gamecocks will still have a big hill to overcome in the next few seasons, as South Carolina has arguably the worst 2021 recruiting class in all of the SEC. Although playing on the road in the SEC can be a challenge, the Gators should find themselves as the victors in this one.
7. Tennessee
Before the 2020 season, most people would think this would be a ridiculous ranking for the Tennessee Volunteers. The Volunteers had a fantastic end to the 2019 season, and most people believed this program was destined to be a contender in the SEC. However, the dreams and hopes of Volunteer fans have dropped severely since then. Despite a great recruiting class and strong returning talent, Tennessee went 3-7 on the 2020 season. After the abysmal disappointment for the Volunteers, the program fired head coach Jeremy Pruit. The firing of Pruit should not come as a surprise, as Tennessee should have easily been a contender with the amount of talent they had. Even though Tennessee has another great recruiting class this year, expect the Gators to win this one fairly easily. The Volunteers are going through an identity crisis, and until they find the right HC that will not change.
6. @ Missouri
While Tennessee may have been one of the most disappointing teams of the 2020 college football season, Missouri was undoubtedly one of the most surprising. Prior to the fall of 2020, Missouri was seen as a below average SEC team. With a new head coach (Eliah Drinkwitz) and a very weak recruiting class, expectations were not that high for the Tigers. Many fans believed this program could even finish 1-9 in 2020. However, that was not the case, as the Tigers impressed many people with a 5-5 record on the season. Although the Tigers have a challenging schedule in 2021, expect them to be a dangerous program with developed talent. Considering this game is on the road, the Gators should face a challenge. Even with that being said, the Gators are likely to win this one, as they are still a much more talented team top to bottom.
5. Florida State
After a disappointing 6-7 season in 2019, many Florida State fans were optimistic about Willie Taggart’s firing. Most of college football believed that new head coach Mike Norvell could be the Seminoles key to success. If that was not enough, the Seminoles were expected to be a strong and talented team in 2020 and a competitor in the ACC. However, that was not the case, as the Seminoles went 3-6 on the season.
After taking another step back in 2020, Florida State left many of their fans scratching their heads. Even with that being said, the Gators need to be careful against their hated in-state rivals in 2021. Despite their disappointing 2020 campaign, many people expect the Seminoles to improve next year. This mainly has occurred due to the fact that the Seminoles have a lot of talent coming in through the transfer portal. This rivalry has seen many great contests before, so a close game would not come as a total surprise. The Gators should still be able to win this one at home due to better talent, but expect the Seminoles to be more competitive next year.
4. @ Kentucky
When looking at the Gators 2021 football schedule, Kentucky undoubtedly sticks out as the biggest trap game of the season. Although the Wildcats have been mediocre the last few years, they have shown short stints of being a competitive SEC team. Considering this game will be played on the road for the Gators, they should expect strong competition.
The Wildcats have had one of the best scoring defenses in the entire SEC the last few years, meaning that Jones and company could struggle. Another key factor to this game will be the quarterback play from Kentucky. As of right now, both Joey Gatewood and Beau Allen are competing for the starting job. Both quarterbacks have the potential to be a strong leader for the Wildcats offense. That should come as a concern for the Gators, as Florida had very poor defensive production in 2020. At the end of the day, expect this matchup to be closer than it was last year. The Gators will still be favored, but the Wildcats should give them a run for their money.
3. @ LSU
Unfortunately for Gator fans, the LSU Tigers had to be somewhere on this list. The late-season loss in 2020 against LSU was perhaps the most disappointing defeat in recent history for the Gators. To sum it all up, a shoe throw and a 50+ yard field goal for the Tigers is what cost Florida the game. The loss knocked the Gators out of the playoff race and derailed the rest of their season, as they lost their next two games as well. To make matters worse for the Gators, LSU will not be going anywhere next year. In fact, the Tigers are expected to improve greatly in 2021.
With a stronger identity in 2021, LSU should find themselves back in the CFB Top 25 next year. The 2020 season will be expected to go down as a fluke year for the Tigers, as they should improve talent-wise in 2021. Myles Brennan will most likely receive the nod as the starting QB for LSU; however, they do have other options as well. The Tigers defense should also improve, as there will be a few key names returning. With both sides of the ball expected to be improved for LSU, the Gators will face an extremely tough challenge. Baton Rouge is also known as arguably the toughest place to play in all of college football, which will work in the Tigers favor. With all that being said, expect LSU to be favored in this one. This game will be winnable for the Gators, but it should be very challenging.
2. Alabama
When looking at the Gators schedule, it’s safe to say they struck out with the SEC crossover games. If LSU is not enough of a challenge from the SEC West, Alabama sure will be. The Crimson Tide are coming off one of the best seasons for any college football team in recent history. Winning the national championship this past season was perhaps the greatest achievement in Nick Saban’s head coaching career. The seven-time national championship winning head coach coached his team to a 13-0 season. To make matters even more impressive, 3 of the top 5 players in the final Heisman voting came from Alabama. This included Najee Harris, Mac Jones, and the Heisman winner Devonta Smith. With a dominant performance against Ohio State in the national championship game, the Crimson Tide established their offense as one of the greatest offenses in CFB history.
When looking at Alabama in 2021, the Crimson Tide will be losing a massive portion of their talent on both sides of the ball. On the offense, key names such as QB Mac Jones, RB Najee Harris, and WRs Devonta Smith and Jaylen Waddle will all be gone. All four players have the potential to be first round picks in the upcoming NFL Draft. On the defense, CB Patrick Surtain II, DT Christian Barmore, and LB Dylan Moses are some of the notable names that will not be returning. At the end of the day, expect Alabama to be a very different looking team compared to last year.
Overall Consensus on Alabama
Although the Crimson Tide are losing a massive portion of their experienced talent, expect Alabama to be back in the CFP race nonetheless. Alabama has a massive arsenal of young talent at Saban’s dispense. The offense will be lead by QB Bryce Young, who is a sleeper Heisman contender. Alabama also has arguably the best 2021 recruiting class in college football. The Gators defense is what cost them the SEC championship game against Alabama in 2020, and if they don’t step it up in 2021, the same result will likely occur. The Gators do play Alabama at home, which makes this game much more winnable than in 2020. However, expect Alabama to be favored, as they have proven themselves time and time again.
1. Georgia (TIAA Bank Field)
The Georgia Bulldogs have earned the right to be the Florida Gators most hated rival. Although the Dawgs have not won a national championship in over 40 years, they have shown to be a very competitive team in the last few years. Nicknamed The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party, the rivalry between these two programs has been one of the best in college football. The two programs have met almost 100 times, with Georgia currently leading the series 52-44-2. The Gators may have won the matchup in 2020, but it came after a three game series winning streak for Georgia. If the Gators wish to win the matchup in 2021, they should expect a much tougher Bulldogs team than last year. However, there is only one thing about this matchup that is almost certain, which is that the winner of this game should go to Atlanta.
The Georgia Bulldogs should be one of the most talented college football teams in 2021. After Stetson Bennett proved to be a mediocre leader for the Bulldogs in 2020, JT Daniels got the job as the starting quarterback. Under Daniels, Georgia went undefeated and won the Peach Bowl. Daniels announced his return to Georgia a few weeks ago, which most Gators fans took as bad news. Another key return for the Bulldogs will be George Pickens, who should be the best wide receiver on the team. Despite a drop in production in 2020, Pickens still managed 36 receptions for 513 yards on the season. As usual, the Bulldogs should have a great run game with Zamir White leading the way. White showed a massive increase in production in 2020. To cap it all off, Georgia will have great young talent, which is due to their recent fantastic recruiting classes.
Overall Consensus on Georgia
Despite there being a few key departures for Georgia on the defensive side of the football, the Dawgs should be better in 2021. The offense could be the toughest Georgia offense the Gators have had to face in years. With so much talent on the Georgia side of the football, expect Florida to be the underdogs in this one. The Gators can definitely win the game, but they will have to execute flawlessly. No mistakes can be made, especially considering the SEC East will most likely be on the line. Georgia has the potential to be the national champion next year, and the Gators will need to play their best game of the season to act as the spoiler. The possibility of a win will be there for either team, but expect UGA to be the favorite.
Final Overview of the Gators Schedule
After a thorough look at the Gators 2021 football schedule, the opportunity to repeat as SEC East division champs is there. However, the road to Atlanta will be much tougher than it was last year. The three games that stand out above the rest are at LSU, Alabama, and Georgia. All the other games should be wins for the Gators, although there could be the potential for a trap game. Unfortunately for the Gators, winning the rivalry game against Georgia is almost an absolute must. To add insult to injury, the Gators need to at least split the SEC West games to have a real shot at the division title. Achieving that goal is a possibility, but the Gators will have to take a major step up from 2020. As for now, much can still change during the long offseason ahead.