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Florida football starting quarterback Graham Mertz is looking forward to a 2024 schedule that is as challenging as any in college football.
Of the 12 games on the upcoming schedule for the Florida Gators, 11 are against power conference opponents. That includes non-conference tilts with in-state foes Miami (Aug. 31), UCF (Oct. 5) and at Florida State (Nov. 30).
“This is why you play at Florida,” Mertz said last month on the Paul Finebaum show. “It’s for these matchups. You want to play at the highest level, against the greatest competition. We know what’s ahead of us. We see it every day when we walk into the locker room. And that excites us.”
The home stretch of UF’s 2024 schedule is daunting, as UF’s final five opponents (Georgia in Jacksonville Nov. 2; at Texas Nov. 9, LSU Nov. 16, Ole Miss Nov. 23 and at FSU on Nov. 30) all finished within the top 13 of the College Football Playoff Rankings at the end of last season.
Here are five critical games for UF in the 2024 season:
August 31, Florida football vs Miami
Florida will get an immediate test against its downstate rival. Though UF and Miami don’t play regularly anymore, tension between the two schools remain strong. Florida and Miami engaged in a Bourbon Street Brawl before the Sugar Bowl in 2000. In 1971, there was the infamous Florida flop, in which UF defenders allowed Miami to score a TD on purpose to get the ball back to quarterback John Reaves so he could set an NCAA career passing record.
Miami leads the all-time series, 29-27, though Florida won the last matchup, 24-20, on August 24, 2019 in Orlando. It’s a big game for both head coaches in order to build momentum and confidence in leading their respective programs. Billy Napier is 11-14 entering year at Florida, while Mario Cristobal is 12-13 in two seasons at Miami.
The Hurricanes will break in a new…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/daunting-task-five-games-critical-080401747.html
Author : The Gainesville Sun
Publish date : 2024-05-08 08:04:01
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