NCAA: 2022 Florida Gators Season Preview

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The Florida Gators will start the 2022 season with a new head coach. Billy Napier was brought in from Louisiana where he coached for four seasons. He did a good job building that program. Napier takes over a Gators program that went through a roller coaster in 2021. In my opinion, they are still a top team in the SEC East. The two teams that I think will give them problems are the Georgia Bulldogs, the defending national champions, and the Tennessee Volunteers. I do not know what the Volunteers will be in 2022 but on our side of the SEC, I do not see any other team. I look for a better year from the Gators in 2022. This team can win enough games to reach a bowl game and will not have to count on a win against Florida State to achieve it.

I am going to give you where I think the 2022 Florida Gators will do this season. In week one they are hosting the Utah Utes. From what I read the Utes are favored to win the Pac-12 championship. They were a good team a year ago taking the Ohio State Buckeyes to the brink in the Rose Bowl. I look for this to be a game that will be a feel game for the Florida Gators and in my opinion, it could either way, but it might be a loss. In week two they are still at home, and this is where we see some revenge from last year. They will be playing the Kentucky Wildcats. They had this game slip away last year, but it will not in 2022. The Gators will get their first win if it does not come against Utah.

In week three, they welcome the USF Bulls. This game was a beatdown last year at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. I do not see anything different in 2022. This will either be where the Gators will be 2-1 or 3-0 going to the meat of their SEC schedule. The first road game will come in week four. They travel to Knoxville to play the Tennessee Volunteers. I know I will be watching how the Vols do in the first three games. This will either be them going 4-0, 3-1, or 2-2. The next three weeks will be in the Swamp. The first is against the Eastern Washington Eagles. This game will be a cakewalk like the USF Bulls game. The next matchup will be a team that has given the Gators some problems in the past the Missouri Tigers. I think this will be a win.

The next game will be like the Kentucky game a revenge win from last year. The LSU Tigers beat the Gators last year they also have a new coach in Brian Kelly the former coach at Notre Dame. I think they will beat the Tigers. The next two weeks will be the toughest two games on the schedule. The first will be in Jacksonville against the Georgia Bulldogs. The Bulldogs easily won last year. This year, I hope the game will be closer, but it will be the same result. The next week they will travel to College Station, Texas to play the Texas AM Aggies. The Aggies are the team that could beat the Alabama Crimson Tide on the west side of the SEC. This, like the Georgia game, will be tough and might also be a loss.

For the final three games, one will be at home and two will be on the road. The final home game will be against the South Carolina Gamecocks. The Gamecocks embarrassed the Gators in 2021 so this will be another game that Florida will vow revenge on. The first of the last two road games will be against the Vanderbilt Commodores. This will be an easy win as the Commodores are not that good of a football team. They head to Tallahassee to play in-state rival Florida State Seminoles. This game was important for both teams in 2021. The Florida Gators won and became bowl eligible, and it knocked the Seminoles out of bowl eligibility. At the end of the season, I can see the Gators being 8-4 in Napier’s first season. That will be a great start and it could be better. I also believe they will win their bowl game.