🏈 College Football
Florida Gators 2025 Season Preview
The Gators aren’t built to steamroll anyone but they’re gritty enough to scare everyone. DJ Lagway has to grow up fast, because this schedule is a buzzsaw. Seven wins? That might be an achievement.
Win Ugly. Punch Up. Survive the Gauntlet.
🧠 Key to the Season:
Stop Turning the Damn Ball Over
The Gators had talent last year. They also had butterfingers.
Florida coughed it up multiple times in six games and lost five of them. The sixth? Tulane in a bowl game nobody watched.
The margin for error in 2025? Razor-thin. If Florida’s gonna keep its head above water in this schedule, they need to either protect the ball or start taking it back. Preferably both.
💪 Key Player:
DJ Lagway, QB (Sophomore)
This is it. DJ Lagway’s team now.
The rest of the roster is veteran-deep and solid. The missing piece is a quarterback who can be “That Guy.”
Lagway doesn’t need to be Superman, but there better be a handful of games where he’s the best player on the field. If not, this offense stalls out quick.
🔁 Top Transfer In:
J. Michael Sturdivant, WR (Senior)
No need for a portal frenzy. The Gators already return a stacked core. But adding Sturdivant was a savvy move.
He’s been productive at Cal and UCLA, putting up over 1,300 yards and 13 TDs across four years. Long, reliable, and explosive enough to take pressure off the young guys.
📤 Biggest Transfer Loss:
Jack Pyburn, DE (Senior)
He wasn’t a star yet, but Pyburn was heating up. 60 tackles last year and disruptive flashes off the edge. Now he’s gone to LSU, where he could break out. The Gators may miss that motor down the line.
📆 Key Game:
@ LSU – September 13
This is the rematch.
Last year’s 27-16 win over LSU flipped Florida’s season and gave Napier breathing room. Now, the Gators walk into Death Valley riding a 6-game win streak.
But after this? It’s @ Miami, Texas, @ Texas A&M, and then Georgia. If Florida doesn’t show up in Baton Rouge, things could unravel fast.
🔟 Top 10 Gators to Watch:
- Tyreak Sapp, DE – Disruptive, violent, consistent.
- Jordan Castell, S – Ballhawk with leadership juice.
- DJ Lagway, QB – X-factor.
- Bryce Thornton, S – Underrated glue in the back end.
- Jake Slaughter, C – Captain of the trenches.
- J. Michael Sturdivant, WR – Transfer weapon.
- Caleb Banks, DT – Anchor up front.
- Jadan Baugh, RB – Could be a breakout sophomore.
- Eugene Wilson, WR – Explosive YAC threat.
- Grayson Howard, LB – Sideline-to-sideline juice.
📊 Fun Stats from 2024:
- 4th Quarter Scoring: Florida 127, Opponents 64
- Fumbles Forced: 24 (recovered 11)
- Sacks: Florida 39 … Opponents just 20
This defense didn’t always bend, but when it got hot, it broke quarterbacks.
🧨 Unc’s Outlook
Last year’s schedule was a meat grinder. Florida still found 8 wins.
This year? It’s somehow worse.
No Bama, no Mizzou, no Oklahoma. Cool.
But look at this hellstorm:
@ LSU, @ Miami, Texas, @ Texas A&M, Georgia (neutral), @ Kentucky, @ Ole Miss, Tennessee
You could hand that schedule to 90% of college football and they’re walking out 4-8 max.
Florida? They’ve got enough vets, enough toughness, and (maybe) enough QB upside to claw out seven wins. Could they get to eight with some breaks? Sure. Could they get cooked and stall at six? Also sure.
🎯 The Call:
Win Total Projection: 7.0
Predicted Record: 7-5
Solid bowl team. Not a CFP team. Yet.
🟢 Game Buckets:
Likely Wins:
- LIU
- USF
- Mississippi State
Toss-Ups (50/50):
- @ Miami
- @ Kentucky
- Tennessee
- @ Ole Miss
- Florida State
- Texas
Likely Losses:
- @ LSU
- Georgia
- @ Texas A&M