Florida Gators

8-4 (5-3)

Week 1: September 3rd vs. Florida Atlantic - FAU has 12 starters back from a 4-8 team in the Sun-Belt. This will be a nice first win for Will Muschamp.

Week 2: September 10th vs. UAB - UAB is better than Florida Atlantic but this is still another game for the Gators to get their legs under them. Florida has too much talent to lose and they should be clicking on all cylinders by the end of the game, ready for SEC play.

Week 3: September 17th vs. Tennessee - Even though Florida has dominated this series from the Spurrier era on, this game is close almost every year...even if you never feel the Gators are in too much trouble. I think we are in store for more of the same here. Neither team has to deal with too difficult of competition leading up to the game, and they should be revved up for SEC play. But the game is in the swamp and Tennessee is still inexperienced. They may perform well for 3 quarters but I think Florida will pull away at the end.

Week 4: September 24th at Kentucky - UK has not won this game since 1986. That is 24 straight and I don't see any reason why I would call for that streak to end here. Gators win.

Week 5: October 1st vs. Alabama - If Bama would not have played at Penn State I might think their QB situation would be shaking going into the swamp, but since they will have played in front of 100,000+ a month prior I don't think it will effect them as much. The bottom line in this game is can Florida's offense do anything against Bama's D? I think Florida could win this game if they get good defensive intensity and force some turnovers, but they will have to play a solid game on offense just to score enough to beat Bama. Going into the season I just don't know what Florida's offense will be capable of against a defense like this, even at home. I'm going with Alabama.

Week 6: October 8th at LSU - I think this is a very even matchup between two teams full of talent. For a few years this was the primo matchup of the year, but it faded a little bit two years ago because of LSU and last year because of Florida. On paper, I don't think there's enough discernable difference between these two teams to pick a winner. But the game's in Baton Rouge, probably at night, and Florida is in a stretch of 5 consecutive SEC games and coming off Alabama the week before. So I'm picking LSU.

Week 7: October 15th at Auburn - This is in the middle of a brutal stretch for both teams. This is the only home game during a stretch which I think is the most brutal in the SEC for Auburn and Florida is coming off games vs. Alabama and at LSU. So both teams could have major injury and fatigue concerns heading into this game and into the 4th quarter. If Charlie Weis is able to mold Florida's offense into what it's capable of then I think Auburn's D will have a hard time catching up. Florida's D is young and athletic and could cause major problems for Auburn's inexperienced QB situation. I think this game will be close, and Auburn/Florida games are always great games which Auburn usually wins. But I'm calling for the Gators to go into Jordan-Hare and steal one.

Week 8: Bye - This will be a welcomed break and a chance to regroup during a rough stretch of games.

Week 9: October 29th vs. Georgia - Florida owns Georgia. They win again.

Week 10: November 5th vs. Vanderbilt - This is a nice sandwich game between two important SEC East matchups in UGA and USC. Vanderbilt's stregth's should be negated by the Gators' stout D-line, and if John Brantley's figured things out by this point it could mean trouble as Florida's athletes run all over the swamp on Vandy's D. Florida takes this one.

Week 11: November 12th at South Carolina - The SEC East title came down to this game in 2010 and I have a feeling the same thing will happen in 2011. Last year's game wasn't even close with USC blowing UF out in the swamp 36-14. This time, not only is the East on the line, but South Carolina could and should have national championship hopes on the line. This should be a defensive game, with both D-lines having the upper hand on the opposing O-line. The difference could be special teams where Florida might have an edge with it's skilled athletes. But South Carolina has the experience and they are at home. I think an inspired Carolina team plays up to par and wins this game.

Week 12: November 19th vs. Furman - Florida was the team who started the fad of scheduling a very weak opponent the week before the rivalry game. It is probably a good strategy and this one should solidify the 8th win for Florida, and a successful first year for Muschamp.

Week 13: November 26th vs. Florida State - I think both of these teams will be very good this year, and that is good for college football. They may not be 1990s good but this game will have a little more punch this year. After winning 6 straight and crushing the Noles in 3 straight, the Gators got crushed last year. Florida State returns 16 starters, and while they lose the 12th pick in the draft, Christian Ponder, they are very high on E.J. Manuel and by this point of the season he should certainly be ready. This game is in the swamp, but I think the Seminoles have a little bit better team this year, so I'll go with them.


JB