2024 Top 25 Countdown: Rugged Slate Could Impact Odds for No. 24 Florida

· Jul 30 - 6 minutes read

Quarterback Graham Mertz leads the list of talented returnees on offense for Florida.
If the defense takes the next step, watch out for the Gators in 2024.
The defense needs to show improvement for Florida to be a top 25 team.
Check out the reasons why Florida is sitting at No. 24 in the BetUS list of the Top 25 college football teams in 2024.

After a 5-2 start that included an upset of nationally ranked Tennessee, the Florida Gators stumbled down the stretch in 2023 with five straight losses. The Gators fell to Arkansas, Missouri and Florida State by a combined total of 14 points so it is easy to see why Florida is getting so much love in the preseason.

2024 Top 25 Countdown: Rugged Slate Could Impact Odds for No. 24 Florida — Max Brown #17 of the Florida Gators | James Gilbert/Getty Images/AFP

With some key offensive players returning and a top group of transfers joining the program, Florida comes in at No. 24 in the BetUS college football countdown.

The college football futures odds have Florida priced at +1800 to be among the 12 teams invited to take part in the College Football Playoff field with +15000 odds of winning the national championship.

This feels like a make-or-break season for Billy Napier at Florida, who has the shortest odds of +400 to be the first coach fired in the 2024 season. With the schedule Florida is playing, a winning season could land the Gators in the top 25. There is enough talent for that to happen.

More Notable Gator Ratings in EA CFB 25:

S Asa Turner – 84
DL Tyreak Sapp – 84
CB Devin Moore – 83
CB Ja’Keem Jackson – 83
DL Kelby Collins – 82
WR Chimere Dike – 80
LT Austin Barber – 80
DT Desmond Watson – 79
TE Arlis Boardingham – 78
WR Aiden Mizell – 78
LB Myles Graham – 78 pic.twitter.com/uSFFF0GhPQ

— Florida Gators 🐊🔥 (@gatorsszn) July 13, 2024

Florida was picked 12th in the SEC’s preseason poll. Expect to see plenty of the teams ahead of the Gators during the rest of this countdown.

Keep reading for more on why the Florida Gators could be a surprise team in the SEC this season.

Florida Gators

2023 record: 5-7
2023 SEC record: 5-4
Head coach: Billy Napier
Odds to win SEC Conference title: +15000

Florida landed some key transfers and was ranked by the 247sports.com database with the No. 5-rated class of incoming transfers.

USC offensive lineman Jason Zandamela, Colorado cornerback Cormani McClain, Penn defensive lineman Joey Slackman, South Carolina linebacker Grayson Howard, Alabama cornerback Jameer Grimsley and Arizona State receiver Elijhah Badger are among the top incoming transfers.

It wasn’t all good news: No. 2 rusher Trevor Etienne is now at Georgia and edge rusher Princely Umanmielen transferred to Ole Miss.

Florida should be able to put up plenty of points this season. However, Florida was 11th in total defense in the SEC and only Vanderbilt allowed more yards per play in the SEC than the Gators. In conference play, that number jumped to an SEC-worst 7.4 yards per play.

Florida allowed 33.6 points in eight conference games so if the defense doesn’t show significant improvement, putting the Gators in the top 25 might not be our best projection of the 2024 college football season.

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Eleven of the top 18 tacklers a season ago were either freshmen or sophomores, and help came via the transfer portal as well. Florida had a top-10 recruiting class with defensive lineman LJ McCray joining linebackers Aaron Chiles and Myles Graham as top incoming freshmen.

The interception issues that plagued Graham Mertz during his time at Wisconsin did not follow him to Gainesville. Mertz had just three interceptions (one in four games against ranked teams) in the 11 games he played in at Florida.

Running back Montrell Johnson could get an even larger workload now that Etienne is at Georgia.

4️⃣ Gators earn All-SEC Preseason Honors!

🔗: https://t.co/42SBEsoyeh #GoGators pic.twitter.com/rbQmJIPBbv

— Florida Gators Football (@GatorsFB) July 19, 2024

The Gators will miss Ricky Pearsall, who was a first-round pick of the San Francisco 49ers in the 2024 NFL Draft. However, receiver Eugene Wilson and tight end Arlis Boardingham are displaying plenty of potential as freshmen.

Florida was 4-2 at home last season and 3-1 as a home favorite. The Gators were just 4-8 versus the college football betting line and that included a 2-4 mark following a loss. Florida covered in just two of seven games as an underdog. The Gators saw four of their five road games land over the total.

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Florida 2024 Outlook

As if contending with an SEC schedule isn’t daunting enough, Florida opens the season as a home underdog against Miami and wraps up the regular season against defending ACC champion Florida State.

Alabama isn’t on the schedule for the Gators but they do play on the road against Tennessee, Georgia, Texas and Florida State in what looks to be one of the toughest schedules in the country.

The challenging schedule combined with the defensive shortcomings has Florida undervalued with -115 odds to go over 4½ wins during the regular season.

The Gators need to take care of business early because the five regular-season games are against Georgia, Texas, LSU, Ole Miss, and Florida State.

Odds and information are accurate at the time of writing. Please check with official sources for the latest updates before placing any bets.