Looking Ahead for the Gators
The 15th ranked Florida Gators have their scheduled bye week this week, so this post will will look ahead to their remaining opponents, but also recap the first half of the season.
The Recap
The Gators started the season 3-0 and their defense looked as dominate as ever. The defense has lived up to expectation and then some, ranking in the top five in the country. Coming into the season Florida had a quarterback battle between Luke Del Rio and Austin Appleby. Del Rio won the starting job, but Appleby has played in two games due to a Del Rio injury. Appleby went 1-1 in his two starts, losing on the road to Tennessee and winning at Vanderbilt. Del Rio has yet to lose a game as a starter this season.
Florida also had a home game against LSU rescheduled to a later date at LSU, due to Hurricane Matthew. The Gators will no longer play Presbyterian at home on November 19th, but will travel to Baton Rouge to face the Tigers.
Florida has had to deal with injuries on both sides of the ball this season, but the Gators keep finding ways to win. However, the harder part of their schedule is approaching. The Gators play Georgia in Jacksonville next week, then on the road at Arkansas and Florida state, both of which are ranked in the AP Top 25.
Looking Ahead
If the Gators win out the rest of their games, they will repeat as SEC East champions, and will go on to likely face either Alabama or Texas A&M. If the Gators lose one of the remaining games, then Tennessee would clinch the SEC East if they win out. With the way the defense has been playing for the Gators, they should be able to hold teams in check. It’s a matter of if the offense can generate enough points to surpass their opponent.