What Florida football needs to do to reach the College Football Playoff in 2025

The arrow is pointing up for Florida football at the close of the regular season in year three under head coach Billy Napier.

The Florida Gators (7-5) followed up a 31-11 win over rival Florida State by signing a 2025 early recruiting class ranked 11th overall by 247Sports composite and 10th overall by ESPN.

Before pounding FSU, Florida posted back-to-back wins over ranked teams LSU and Ole Miss at The Swamp. The current three-game win streak is tied for the longest in three seasons under Napier. Florida will return to a bowl after a one-year absence.

“We have a hungry fan base,” Napier said. “We have an administration that’s dedicated and committed. We have a number of investors who have stepped up. We’ve improved the player experience here.

“I think the missing piece was the on-field brand of football, the winning formula, the execution. ‘Hey, that’s a brand of football that is effective and I can develop, I can experience success.’ The right kind of kids, they’re either up for the challenge and they show up here to do it, they want to be associated with a winner.”

“It’s one of the more challenging things that I’ve been through, but I think we were made of the right stuff.”

Billy Napier reflects on guiding his Gators to a strong finish amid heavy criticism of the team’s slow start pic.twitter.com/jeZWy2KeCq

— Paul Finebaum (@finebaum) December 5, 2024

With promising freshman quarterback DJ Lagway proving he can win games at the SEC level, there is hope that year four under Napier will yield a more significant step forward. Given the strength of the SEC, Florida doesn’t have to win the league to reach the College Football Playoff in 2025. But the Gators, who went 4-4 in conference in 2024, must post a winning record in league play while facing a less brutal schedule.

Here are three other things Florida must do to reach…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/florida-football-needs-reach-college-090300705.html

Author : The Gainesville Sun

Publish date : 2024-12-06 09:03:00

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