The schedule that the Florida Gators are slated to play in the 2024-25 season has officially been released. The SEC will be welcoming the Oklahoma Sooners and the Texas Longhorns to the conference from the Big 12, so the SEC will be (at least for the 2024 season) going with a no-division format that will see the two teams with the best overall record make the SEC Championship game (tiebreakers included) until a more solid plan can be finalized moving forward. Here is the Gators schedule:
Aug. 31 – Miami at Florida
Sept. 7 – Samford at Florida
Sept. 14 – Texas A&M at Florida
Sept. 21 – Florida at Miss State
Sept. 28 – Bye
Oct. 5 – UCF at Florida
Oct. 12 – Florida at Tennessee
Oct. 19 – Kentucky at Florida
Oct. 26 – Bye
Nov. 2 – Florida vs. Georgia (in Jacksonville)
Nov. 9 – Florida at Texas
Nov. 16 – LSU
No. 23 – Ole Miss
Nov. 30 – at Florida State
The Five-Game Stretch in November is Downright Brutal for the Gators
Florida Gators head coach Billy Napier – Andy Lyons/Getty Images
The five-game stretch after the second bye week will most likely decide whether or not Florida Gators head coach Billy Napier still has his job going into 2025. Coming off their second bye week, as they’ve done every season the past 15-20 years it seems, Florida plays Georgia in Jacksonville. That game has been one-sided in favor of the Bulldogs for the past six years, with Georgia winning six of the last seven matchups since 2017.
After the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party, Florida travels to Austin, Texas, for the first time since 1939 to take on the Longhorns, who lead the all-time series 2-0-1. The Longhorns will be coming off an appearance in the College Football Playoff (and possibly a national title win) and very well maybe returning their starting quarterback, Quinn Ewers, depending on a decision to enter the 2024 NFL Draft.
Florida then plays LSU and Ole Miss in The Swamp to close out their home schedule. LSU will not have 2023 Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels at quarterback, but LSU has won the last two matchups over Florida since Napier became head coach and have done so in relatively dominate fashion in both contests.
The Gators play Ole Miss on Senior Day, who will have an explosive offense led by head coach Lane Kiffin. Kiffin will undoubtedly have some tricks up his sleeve, but Florida did get the better of Kiffin and the Rebels back in 2020 in a 51-35 victory. (Very much has changed about Florida since then, though).
To end the five-game stretch that is without a shadow of a doubt the toughest in the entire country, Florida goes on the road to face the team that defeated the Gators in The Swamp to end their 2023 season, Florida State.
The Seminoles will be replacing Jordan Travis at quarterback and will have many new faces along their defensive line. As of right now, it’s difficult to predict a scenario where this game has any significant meaning for the Gators given the four games prior, but winning rivalry games is important, and Napier is 0-2 against FSU. A win on the road against the Seminoles feels almost like a must-have in year three of Napier’s tenure.
Gators Face All-Three Florida In-State Schools
Speaking of Florida State, they are one of three in-state Florida schools that the Gators will be facing off against in 2024. Miami, UCF, and the aforementioned Seminoles are three of Florida’s four non-conference matchups (Samford being the fourth), making for one of the more difficult non-conference schedules in the entire country.
Florida last played Miami to begin the 2019 season which saw the Gators win 24-20 in a neutral site game in Orlando. Miami will be playing Florida in The Swamp for the first time since 2008. Florida and Miami used to be a yearly matchup and was very much a heated rivalry, but the past decade has only seen the two teams play once back in 2013. Miami will be starting a new quarterback (who is still to be determined as of the writing of this) in 2024 as former starter Tyler Van Dyke is now a Wisconsin Badger after transferring out of Coral Gables.
Florida last played UCF in the 2021 Gasparilla Bowl, which saw the Gators lose to the Golden Knights 29-17. Golden Knights head coach Gus Malzahn has some relatively recent experience coaching in The Swamp, as his Auburn Tigers, where he coached prior to becoming UCF’s head coach, lost to the Gators back in 2019 24-13.
Final Thoughts on Gators schedule
There’s simply no denying that the five-game stretch for Florida in November is one of the toughest slates any team will face in the entire country, even with all the conference realignment outside of the SEC being factored in. Florida will have to stack wins in the first half of the schedule if they want to have a successful season, much like they needed to do last season.
Florida Gators head coach Billy Napier has a lot to prove in year three and that final stretch of games after the second bye week is not going to be easy to get victories from. However, Florida only has to leave the state of Florida three times next season, which is a plus. Florida, at least as of right now, will likely be facing nine teams who will have a new quarterback in 2024 and two teams with new head coaches (in this case in back-to-back games in Texas A&M and Mississippi State).
Florida Gators QB Graham Mertz (15) – Maddie Washburn/Florida Athletics
Even with the daunting schedule, the Gators will have reason for optimism as one of the most experienced quarterbacks in college football in Graham Mertz will be running their offense after he announced his decision to return to Gainesville a few weeks ago. Mertz played well in his first season with the Gators and him taking another step forward would be massive for the Gators.
Florida not playing Tennessee until October 12th is possibly the oddest part about the 2024 schedule, as that match up normally happens in the second or third week of September. But as mentioned, the conference realignment that the SEC will be adapting to is making the abnormal very normal.
