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After finishing with an 8-4 record, the Florida Gators look to push further in the College Football Playoffs this season. Third-year Head Coach Dan Mullen led this team to the top of the SEC East in 2020. After a big win in the final game of the season against Alabama, they fell short in the Cotton Bowl. That 55-20 loss to the Oklahoma Sooners knocked the Gators out of the playoffs and cost them a bowl victory.
Now, the Gators face a new challenge, building on last year’s success. Sometimes, when a team has a great year, they regress due to a tough loss. The question now is how will the Gators respond to their shortcoming in 2020? Can they push further in the College Football Playoffs, perhaps contending for a 2022 National Championship? Or will the team regress this season, leaving much to be desired?
2021 Florida Gators Futures Betting Odds
Florida Gators National Championship Odds: +4000
Florida Gators Conference Champion Odds: +1600
Florida Gators Win Total Odds: Over 9 (-139) Under 9 (+110)
The Florida Gators looked like a solid team in 2020, up until their loss to the Oklahoma Sooners. Unfortunately, the Gators lost some of their star players to the NFL Draft. Now, the Gators will have to look to their remaining roster for help this season.
There are some talented players on the roster but they don’t have enough experience. This lack of experience and the new roster is the reason for the +4000 odds to win the National Championship. Just by looking at the odds, you can tell their best chance to win it all was last season.
That shouldn’t sway you from betting on some key Florida Gators futures bets though. The under nine game total is promising for a team with a new roster. You would need a 10-2 record if betting the over and there are three games we see the Gators losing. Those games are against the Alabama Crimson Tide, Georgia Bulldogs, and LSU Tigers.
With such a green roster and some prominent players drafted in 2020, it’ll be tough for Florida to win those. There are also games against Tennessee and Florida State University that the Gators could potentially lose. Safe to say, with the roster needing to be developed, the Gators are in for a similar season to 2020.
Florida Gators 2021 Offseason Grade: B-
Key Additions: (OT, Tony Livingston), (CB, Julian Humphrey), (WR, Jamarrien Burt), (QB-PP, Nick Evers)
Key Departures: (TE, Kyle Pitts), (WR, Kadarius Toney), (QB, Kyle Trask), (DB, Marco Wilson)
In the first round of the NFL Draft, two Florida Gators were taken. That shows the magnitude of the players that will be missed heading into the 2021 season. The Gators also lost their starting quarterback Kyle Trask. Trask helped the team rise to the top of the rankings in terms of passing yards, averaging 378.6 per game. That loss, along with two top receiving targets puts the Gators at a distinct disadvantage.
The Gators did what they could to recruit some prospects this year and OT Tony Livingston looks promising. Nick Evers, graded at 83 per ESPN, could be a solution down the line at QB, but not yet. The questions are beginning to mount for the Gators as to what their offense will produce in 2021. Considering the players they’ve lost, you can imagine it won’t nearly be as effective as the 2020 season.
Florida Gators 2021 Preview
Coming into this season it’s hard to expect much from a team that lost a sizable portion of their offense. Playing against teams as effective as Alabama and LSU put the Gators in a tough scenario. The schedule this year for Florida is unforgiving and this new roster could have trouble closing games. The losses of Pitt, Trask, and Toney, could prove to be too grand an obstacle to overcome.
That doesn’t mean the Gators can’t have some form of success this year. They’re still a very talented team with a great head coach. We should all just set the expectations slightly lower this year until the team can develop. Given time, the Gators could shock everyone with a trip deep into the College Football Playoffs, just not this year. What we should expect is another eight-win season, with the potential of entering the playoffs.
Florida Gators 2021 Futures Best Bets
The Gators won’t likely take the SEC but there is still a way to make money on Florida. This comes in the form of taking the under on the win-loss total. Currently, the odds are set at nine games, which would need a 10-2 record if you take the over. A better idea is to take the under, allowing for multiple losses which are needed for a young team. Our expected record for the Florida Gators is 8-4, putting you just under the odds.
