By: Kenneth Harrison

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

The Florida Gators are coming off of a very good 2019 season.

They were 11-2, won the Orange Bowl and finished the season ranked No. 6 in the AP Poll. Dan Mullen is entering his third year as the head coach in Gainesville.

It looks like the Gators have finally found their first good quarterback since Tim Tebow. They started the 2019 season with Feleipe Franks under center. He was known for making poor decisions and turning the football over. He got injured in the Kentucky game and Kyle Trask stepped in to come from behind and win the game.

I think he’s a significant upgrade over Franks and playing the entire season will make a big difference.

UF is ranked No. 6 in the preseason poll. They have not won the SEC East since 2016. That doesn’t seem like a long time, but it is for this program that’s used to competing for national championships.

Some of the key departures are defensive end Jon Greenard, corner back C.J. Henderson and running back La’mical Perine. Greenard had 52 tackles, 15.5 for loss and 9.5 sacks in his final season.

Henderson had 11 pass breakups, entered the draft a year early and was the ninth overall pick by Jacksonville.

Perine was the leading rusher in 2019 with 676 yards and 6 touchdowns.

The Gators have some good players returning. Tight end Kyle Pitts is 6’6, 239-pounds and one of the best in the nation. He had 54 catches for 649 yards and five touchdowns.

Wide receiver Trevon Grimes is entering his senior year and he’s going to be the No. 1 receiver. The Ohio State transfer had 33 receptions for 491 yards and 3 TD’s last year.

CB Marco Wilson had three interceptions and 36 tackles in 2019.

The schedule is very manageable.

Eastern Washington: They start the season with the college version of a preseason game against an FCS opponent. They’ll demolish the Eagles.

Kentucky: The Wildcats have lost talented players from last years team. This will be an easy win for Florida.

South Alabama: The Jaguars were 2-10 last year. We don’t expect e team from the Sun Belt to put up much of a fight under normal circumstances and this is a bad team. UF trounces them.

@ Tennessee: The first road game of the season. The Vols started poorly in 2019 but they won their final 6 games to finish 8-5. This is a rivalry game, so I expect it to be close, but I give the edge to the Gators.

South Carolina: Former Florida coach Will Muschamp has been the head coach at South Carolina since 2016. Last season they were 4-8 but they did have a huge upset at Georgia. They won’t be that lucky on this day.

LSU: We all know the Tigers were undefeated and won the national championship in 2019. Heisman Trophy winning QB Joe Burrow is gone and LSU will fall back to earth. Gators get the W.

@ Ole Miss: The Rebels are one of the worst teams in the conference, so this is a cakewalk.

Georgia: This is a Halloween day rivalry game. The Bulldogs have won the last three meetings. That streak will finally get snapped.

@ Vanderbilt: We know Vandy doesn’t stand a chance.

Mizzou: The Tigers are one of the worst teams in the division. Another lopsided win.

New Mexico State: The Aggies are traveling to Gainesville for a beat down.

@ Florida State: The Seminoles are struggling, and this is the final W of the season.

I expect Florida to finish the regular season undefeated.