The Gators need players to step up as their schedule is an absolute gauntlet.
Because of all the improvements that will be made to the game in 2024, the college football season of 2024 is anticipated to be one of the most thrilling in recent memory. The expanded College Football Playoff is a good place to start.
Observing how the inaugural season of the new 12-team College Football Playoff unfolds will be interesting. Eight additional teams will now qualify for the playoffs, ending the four-team format.
First of all, college football fans can breathe a little bit easier during the regular season. There’s no worse feeling as a fan than seeing your team lose a huge game in the first weeks of the season before conference play even starts. In the four-team playoff era, that’s as demoralizing as it gets. You know that one more loss is the nail in the coffin, and even with one loss (or in Florida State’s case, zero), there is no guarantee that you will make it. Now, power five teams that go 10-2 should be pretty safe, and even some 9-3 teams will likely be able to make it.
The other big change is more football and a longer season. The College Football Playoff committee recently released the schedule for the 2024 playoff, and it is going to be an exciting month. Instead of three total playoff games played in the span of a week, we will get to see 11 games spread out over the span of a month. That is going to be a lot of fun.
Another huge change to the college football world this year will be with the new conferences. The Pac-12 is gone as all of them, with the exception of Oregon State and Washington State, relocated. Cal and Stanford joined the ACC, USC, UCLA, Oregon, and Washington joined the Big Ten, and Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, and Utah joined the Big 12.
However, Oklahoma and Texas are leaving the Big 12 to join the SEC, meaning that the Big 12 has lost two clubs.
All things considered, college football is about to undergo significant upheaval, which should make for an interesting season. There will be more football and more exciting games, even though not everyone likes the new arrangements. Things will look different. That’s a benefit.
Florida football has one of the hardest schedules in college football
The Florida football team is traditionally one of the better teams in the SEC, but it hasn’t been like that lately, and it certainly wasn’t like that last season. The Gators finished the 2023 season with a 5-7 record and they failed to qualify for a bowl game. That’s not going to cut it. The team is starting to make some noise on the recruiting trail, but the only thing that matters is on-field results. You can get all the recruits in the world, but it doesn’t matter at all if you don’t win.
Billy Napier and his Florida football team have a crucial season ahead, and unfortunately for them, their schedule is giving them no favors. The Gators have an absolute gauntlet of a schedule next year that includes Miami, Texas A&M, Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia, Ole Miss, Florida State, Texas and LSU. Their other three games are against Samford, UCF and Mississippi State. Finding success next season is going to be incredibly difficult.
Things aren’t going to much easier in the future, either. This is life is the new-look SEC. It is easier to get into the College Football Playoff now after its expansion to 12 teams, but just finishing in the top-10 of the SEC is going to present a challenge. The Gators are in risk of slipping behind since the path ahead appears to be very challenging.
The Gators will need to perform at their highest level each and every week with a schedule like that. This season, they will also require a few fresh players to step up. Last year, they were unable to compete in this league due to its increased intensity, and this year, Florida will face some of the toughest opponents. This season, something has to give. This athlete has a chance to make a big impact for the Gators should he have a breakout year.
Sharif Denson, CB
The Florida football team is going to face some incredibly talented offenses this season, and the defense needs to be ready for it. One player that seems poised for a breakout year is cornerback Sharif Denson. Denson has played just one season for the Gators, and it was a quiet one, but he is in position to play a lot more in 2024. He is expected to be one of the top CBs on the team, so he should see the field a lot.
Last year, Sharif Denson had seven total tackles on the year and zero interceptions. He played his role, and that This year, the position will be larger.
One of the younger guys who will likely play a significant part for this Florida football squad next season is Sharif Denson. They do have a sizable senior class with a lot of field experience, which should help a lot. But with the challenging opponents on their schedule, they will all need to perform like seasoned upperclassmen. Sharif Denson is hopeful that he can do that and that the necessary ingredients will be present for his achievement.
