What Does Success Look Like For The Florida Gators In 2024? | Florida Gators Football 2024

welcome back to another episode of rock boys football a ton of Buzz surrounding this Florida Gator program heading into 2024 D at least the way I look at it this is a massive year for this Florida Gator program where we're not necessarily expecting an SEC Championship but you talk about where this Florida Gator program is kind of potentially building to the amount of young tal that is on this roster if you're a Florida Gator fan I think you look at the 2024 season as a massive building block which could kind of catapult you into some really fun years down the road for this Florida program want to get into a couple of different things one just program Outlook right Billy Napier heading into year three what do we expect from Billy Napier what do we think is a successful season in 2024 and then more importantly take a look at this schedule and kind of dive into some of those musthave games for Billy Napier and the Florida Gators now I think the big point of this episode D is kind of just getting the pulse of the Florida Gator fans and I think we need to hear from you guys right we're Michigan fans but we love talking this Florida program you get the PS from the program you get it from the fans so would love to hear from you guys in terms of what does success look like what do you want to see from Florida in 2024 would love to hear from you guys in the comments section if y all do enjoy the content consider subscribing to the channel to the Florida Gator fans and it's been a blast talk in this program over the last couple of months you guys have shown a ton of support whether we're previewing in 2024 talking the transfer portal recruiting Trail appreciate you guys and D I'm gonna I'm G to give you the T box here and let's just start with program Outlook going into year three with Billy Napier where do you see this Florida Gator program at heading into 2024 I mean this is kind of what you said this is a massive year where you just need to see the progress and again it's not National Championship bust it's not SEC Championship or bust now that's certainly where he needs to get this to or he shouldn't be the co yesid aam that should be competive at the highest levels every year but that's probably just realistically not this year I frankly what I'm looking for I think they have six swing games I think they have Miami Texas A&M Tennessee Kentucky LSU and Florida State those are kind of six games I don't think they're gonna be massive underdogs or massive favorites I think those will be close spreads from Vegas I think you want to win at least three of those games I look at last year you kind of had four of them youah Utah Kentucky Tennessee LSU only get one of them I think in this year you need to see them be able to beat those teams that they're I don't want to say they're on even footing with but they're really close they're all kind of fighting to make that jump into the SEC Powers you need to see I think Florida beat those teams more regularly than than you can you know I think another thing that at least I'm looking at is can you show that you're closing the gap between these top SEC programs are we expecting Florida to beat Georgia in 2024 I don't think think a lot of people I don't think a lot of Florida Gator fans are expecting a win against Georgia that being said can you show that you're kind of closing the margins between yourself and Georgia because again like you said at the top you make no mistake about it what is the goal of this Florida Gator program it's to get back to being National Championship contenders every single year so not only winning some of those swing games which Florida did a very bad job of in 2023 yes that's important that's kind of The Next Step but I think more importantly can you show that this program in terms of that SEC pecking order is going back to you know kind of where it belongs another thing that I think would I think a lot of Florida fans should focus on is the young nucleus that is on this team you look at Billy Napier and say yes have there been some Growing Pains as Billy Napier jumped from Louisiana to the Florida Gators yeah should we expect some of those growing paints absolutely I mean running a program in Louisiana versus running the Florida Gators it's different it's going to look different it's going to be different for Billy Napier can tell there have been some growing pains in terms of how to run a program that size especially with the transfer portal in nil de these new head coaches not only taking over big programs that's kind of a change but the world of college football is changing so significantly as well you look at Florida and say if Billy Napier can show that this team is kind of turning the corner in 2024 and again we're not expecting an SEC Championship but more of a winning program when you look at 2025 and 2026 I kind of to talk about this program very similar to how we talk about the Auburn Tigers where yeah we expect Florida and Auburn to significantly improve from last year that being said if you're a Florida fan you're looking at 2025 2026 guys like DJ lagway Eugene Wilson that is wi this Florida team if all goes well over this 2024 season is the most dangerous so I think that's also an important conversation to have when you're talking Florida in 2024 is do you see that young Talent continuing to take that step you see a little bit more from that Player Development Billy Napier making some really big changes to the position group coaches over the offseason that's kind of what I look at now let's get into what a successful season looks like and I I think again I would love to hear from the Florida Gator fans like what is that win loss record that you are looking for where you'll look up at the end of November and say yeah Florida had a really good season deal I'll give you the tbox here what are you looking for in this 2024 schedule here I mean I think I think Seven's kind of the target I think again like if you hit seven on the surface that doesn't look like great year for a Florida Gator program that again expects what they expect and they should expect what they expect but I think given their schedule given where this team's at I think seven wins gives you the confidence that Billy Napier is kind of the guy if I don't again I don't think you want to see your Arkansas's thrown in there like Mississippi State Sanford like even UCF those are teams I really think Florida should beat their talent is a step above or a notch above those programs you don't want to see them throw in an Arkansas type game in there but again I think the real important thing is to get to that seven wins you need to go jump up and beat beat a good Kentucky you need to go jump up beat a good LSU one of those teams that again aren't teams that Florida can't beat or or would take a real Miracle to beat but teams that I again I you got to see them win some of those games because that to me is where Billy apier is at where you see him recruiting at a certain level you've seen him bring in talented team now again you you need to be able to sell that there he has the ability to win especially as you return so much production that you had last year I mean this team is essentially running it back yeah you lose some guys like Ricky peol or Prince Ley you on the defensive side of the football did a lot of the nucleus from the team in 2023 and it's still here in 2024 including a quarterback and Graham MCH that we think can be one of the better quarterbacks not think we saw last year that can be one of the better quarterbacks in the SEC I think when you say that that gives the like well there's no more excuses for no growth like right feel like you could maybe look at it you're playing a ton of young guys who are still kind of cleaning out the Old Dan melon days if you will now they're really okay this it's not Billy's full team but it's close enough to his team that you need to see growth and I think last year you didn't really see it in the way I think you would have wanted to or hoped to this year I think again there just there's no excuses to not not go have some really big wins especially when you see see them catching some of those good teams at home you see those early games Miami Ora and& M both at home both games I think they're in a very good position to to kind of I would essentially say you kind of said it's not yet Billy's team I think by year three I think a lot of Florida fans are saying this is Billy's team right the guys that have been on this roster that might have been from Dan mullen's days all right this is year three within Billy Napier's program if you've not adopted what Billy Napier wants to do then you probably hit the transfer portal by now and you look at a lot of play that are going to be playing for Florida they're either guys that Billy Napier recruited out of high school or guys that Billy Napier grabbed in the transfer portal so I would kind of say that year three especially in this era where you have the ability to turn over your roster this is essentially at least in my opinion this is Billy Napier's team now two things that you highlighted one you don't want to lose to teams that you're more talented than you saw that too much in 2023 I think Arkansas was the big example you look at sford that should be win but on the road at Mississippi State UCF those are going to be challenging games it's hard to go to Starkville and win football games we think UCF is going to be one of the better teams in the Big 12 that being said Florida's the better team on paper you make no mistake about it if you're a Florida fan you don't want to see any of those games in 2024 being losses when you have the better team because that does speak to what you're coaching and that to me is like the given and if you see two of them frankly I'd be really surprised okay unless you have some real Miracles and like go be George and Miss for example I think that's going to be really hard to kind of sell the idea Billy and AP going yeah and then I think secondly starting winning those swing games like when you're trying to win an SEC Championship a national championship you're going to have to win games that are three-point spreads that you might be three-point underd Ducks that's just kind of how it goes I think you kind of crushed it and you look at and I know you don't want to chunk necessarily this schedule up but when you look at the first four games of this season I look at it being just a massive start because we all know the back half of the season it's gone I mean there there's no secret about it you've seen people talk about it for the last eight months but you look at the first four games you should beat Sanford you should go on the road at beat Mississippi State those are two wins now I think for Florida fans can you find a way to win one of those games you get them both at home Miami Texas A&M D the spread for Miami it's two and a half points your two and a half Point dogs taking a have hosting Miami week one at 3:30 kick it's going to be Rowdy then you look at Texas A&M again that's a team that has a new high coach you get them at home if you're Billy AP here in Florida can you win one of those football games there be three and one going into your bye-week and why I want to highlight those first four games can this team start building a little bit momentum and just a little bit of a winning culture because you look at Florida and say it seemed to me that a lot of the problems that Florida had in 2023 was they just didn't believe that they could win some of those tight games the Arkansas's or the Missouri or the Florida states can Florida start with this young team start believing that they can start taking care of business against some of those teams that I guess you're kind of quote unquote evenly matched against that's you know kind of what I'm looking for from the Florida Gator in 2024 and I'm with you if they don't win one of those games my hackles will be up my level really starts forat because as you kind of said like yeah you do have some games that again we look Kentucky Tennessee LSU those are games that certainly Florida is extremely capable of winning but if they if they drop their first two kind of kind of games of that ilk I yeah I'll be my hackles I'll be I think you you want to go three and one in the first four I think you want to go two and three in the next three right UCF Tennessee Kentucky I think you should beat UCF and then you go on the road to Knoxville that's going to be a hard game but you beat him last year then you get Kentucky at home D that's one of those games I've have circled like I think kuy is going to be a good team in the SC you get Kentucky at home you don't want to lose too straight to them you get him at home on homecoming that can't be a loss and then you look at the back half of the schedule there's no secret about it those last five games they are all top 15 teams in the country most of these teams are top 10 teams in the country what I'm kind of looking for is I don't need you to go four- one in that slate but can you show that you've kind of gained on Georgia a little bit you're a little bit more competitive against Georgia you're going in the right direction you go on the road to Texas can you make data competitive game you get LSU and Miss at home that's the two games that can you steal one of those games can you find a way to beat LSU or Miss and then go on the road at Florida State I think that should be a competitive game too D we kind of talked about it throughout the off season yes the record matters that's how we evaluate head coaches we're not going to get up here and say at a program like the Florida Gators wins and losses don't matter because they do but when I look at the back half of the schedule I'm a little less concerned about winning and loss winning wins losses and I'm a little bit more concerned with does this Florida team look like they're taking those steps to become one of the top teams in the SEC that's what I think Florida fans should be at least most concerned with in that back half I 100% agree with that because again even if they lose all five of them it's like if you played tough and Ula you didn't lose too many games before that stretch I think you can kind of live with that just because again when you're running that sort of schedule for five straight weeks against the absolute heavyweights of college football all have equal if not more Talent than the florig Gators currently like you can deal with those loss I just think again where Florida's at I think if you're being realistic you can take him and you want to win every game obviously but in the back of your mind I think you can accept that I think again you kind of tou like that first that first slate they need to they need to do well if they don't do well in that FLT first slate I you could see this season getting off the rails a little bit agreed I would love to hear from the Florida fans I think this is a again I think a lot of people just want to talk wins and losses I really do think it's so important to appreciate where this program is in their like maturation process under Billy Napier I think that's what a lot of Florida fans are probably thinking in the back of their heads as well we'll cut it there again would love to hear from you guys in the comment section we're just two idiots from Michigan talking Florida Gator football we would love to hear from you guys appreciate youall Rock we're we're Rochester New York Michigan fans I guess we are appreciate you guys rocking with the fellas if y'all do enjoy the content consider subscribing to the channel we'll talk to y'all later peace