Jacob Bunn's 2011 Florida Football Preview
Posted on July 6, 2011 by Jacob Bunn
Predicted 2011 Record: 8-4 (5-3)
2011 is year one of Florida’s time under head coach Will Muschamp. The good news is that he is experienced in the SEC, but the potential downside is that he has never spent time as a head coach before taking the job in Gainesville. Nonetheless, he will be inheriting a significant amount of talent from Urban Meyer, and probably will not be pressured to produce too much in his first year. So, he must have it made, right? That’s not exactly the way I see it. The annual expectations at Florida have been ratcheted up to the point that any season with four or more losses is probably going to be considered a failure.
Last season Urban Meyer’s Gators failed to perform at the level of which many people felt they were capable. A blown coverage here, a poor decision by quarterback John Brantley there, and things began to deteriorate last October for Florida. This year, though, with a new man in charge, the Gators are looking to recapture the magic they had a couple of years ago. In my opinion, the key for Florida this season is John Brantley. Can offensive coordinator Charlie Weis educate him about his offense enough by the beginning of play in September?
This is how I see Florida’s 2011 season shaking out:
Sept 3 – Florida Atlantic – Win 44-7
Sept 10 – UAB – Win 30-14
Sept 17 – Tennessee – Win 24-20
Sept 24 – @Kentucky – Win 34-28
Oct 1 – Alabama – Win 21-20
Oct 8 – @LSU – Loss 10-6
Oct 15 – @Auburn – Loss 17-16
Oct 22 – Off
Oct 29 – Georgia – Win 32-31
Nov 5 – Vanderbilt – Win 14-7
Nov 12 – @South Carolina – Loss 24-17
Nov 19 – Furman – Win 56-6
Nov 26 – Florida State – Loss 26-21
After it is all said and done, I predict the Gators will finish 8-4 and 5-3 in the SEC. I think that is an improvement from last year. The Alabama win will be a one, but I doubt back-to-back losses to LSU and Auburn will make Florida fans too happy. Of course, it is impossible to predict how a team will respond to a first time head coach, but his is my best guess.
Email Jacob at jacob@bunnsports.com and follow him on Twitter at @JacobBunn
