Florida Receives Even More Hype Before Regular Season

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The Florida Gators are entering scary territory for a first-year head coach.

After a 4-8 season, new head coach Jon Sumrall needs some grace as he attempts to turn the Gators into a College Football Playoff contender.

However, the expectations are starting to build before his first season in Gainesville. Even former Florida head coach Steve Spurrier thinks a 9 or 10-win season is on the table.

CBS Sports named the Gators as an "underrated" SEC team before the start of the regular season. Tom Fornelli thinks Florida could be ranked at the end of the season, though he's not ready to suggest the Gators will play in the SEC championship in December.

"Thirteen of the SEC's 16 teams received at least a vote in the preseason AP Top 25, with nine ranked in the Top 25," he wrote. "Florida was not one of those teams, and while I won't argue the Gators deserved to be in the Top 25, I do believe there's a very good chance this team finishes the year there. 

"Jon Sumrall has been a head coach for four seasons. He's won three conference titles (across two leagues) and played for a fourth. I doubt that trend continues in the SEC, but a talented team combined with an excellent coaching staff could lead to much-improved results in a hurry."

Earlier this week, Josh Pate said to pump the brakes on a nine-win season, believing eight wins is the ceiling for the Gators this season. 

That should be the common sentiment for Florida going into the fall. Gators starting quarterback Aaron Philo is inexperienced. His receivers are solid, but the offensive line is a question mark.

The defense should be good, but they have enough worries on the defensive line and in the secondary to think they're capable of going on a run to beat Georgia, Texas, and a couple of other SEC programs expected to compete for the CFP.

The Gators might be underrated this summer, but they've been overrated the last two seasons. It's time for Florida to prove it on the field.

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