The 2025 Florida Gators, hailing from the SEC, have landed at number 20 on the CFB Top 50 countdown.

Florida is coming off of a good year in 2024, though perhaps not “good” for the standards of everyone in the Gator fanbase. An eight-win season can hardly be called bad, but you and I both know there are people out there who want more.

We think this team should be able to compete, though as the season draws near, there is already injury drama with Florida.

2025 Florida Gators Basic Facts

Head Coach: Billy Napier (4th season)

2025 Conference: Southeastern Conference (SEC)

2024 Record: 8-5 (4-4), 10th in SEC

Final Resolution of Last Season: Won Gasparilla Bowl

2024 Scoring Offensive Rank: T-64th (28.3)

2024 Scoring Defensive Rank: T-42nd (23.1)

Florida Key Additions and Subtractions

IN – J. Michael Sturdivant, wide receiver. Transferred from UCLA.

IN – Vernell Brown, wide receiver. Four-star recruit from Florida.

OUT – Elijhah Badger, wide receiver. Signed by Kansas City as an undrafted free agent.

OUT – Chimere Dike, wide receiver. Drafted by Tennessee in 4th round of 2025 Draft.

OUT – Cam Jackson, defensive tackle. Drafted by Carolina in 5th round of 2025 Draft.

Best Game on the Schedule in 2025

November 1 vs. Georgia. The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party (I dispute this, by the way) should be a good one this season. Georgia has won four of these games in a row, and seven out of eight, but the margins narrowed in last year’s game, and Florida hopes to go toe-to-toe with what is expected to be a top-five Bulldogs team.

2025 Florida Gators: Outlook

On to the injury drama previously referenced: Quarterback DJ Lagway has been seen at training camp wearing a walking boot, which will no doubt cause for some anxiety amongst the faithful. He dealt with injuries last season as well, so all the more reason for concern, though there is no reason to think as of early August that he will not be good to go by the end of the month. (Brockway, 2025)

Florida’s top two receivers from last year, Elijhah Badger and Chimere Dike, are both now in the pros. Inbound transfer J. Michael Sturdivant is going to get a bunch of targets, as probably will Eugene Wilson, who if he remains healthy this season is likely to have a strong year. A duo of productive running backs, Jadan Baugh and Ja’Kobi Jackson, should be able to get the job done on the ground.

On defense, the Gators have a lot of tackling to replace, as the top three on the stat sheet are all gone this year. However, Florida’s starting 11 on that side of the football figure to be almost all upperclassmen. Let’s find out together who steps up in 2025, but amongst them will likely be Tyreak Sapp and Jordan Castell.

There is no need to rush Lagway if he needs some time in Week 1, as LIU will be a heavy underdog. South Florida in Week 2 will be a little tougher, but Week 3 is a road game at LSU, followed by a bit of a Murderer’s Row: Miami, Texas, and Texas A&M. The schedule gets very tough, very fast. So long as injuries don’t derail the Gators, they should be competitive.

References

247Sports. (n.d.-b). Florida 2025 football commits. https://247sports.com/college/florida/season/2025-football/commits/

2024 football cumulative statistics – Florida Gators. (n.d.). Florida Gators. https://floridagators.com/sports/football/stats

2025 Florida Gators football depth Chart | Ourlads.com. (n.d.). https://www.ourlads.com/ncaa-football-depth-charts/depth-chart/florida/90498

Brockway, K. (2025, July 28). Florida football QB DJ Lagway in walking boot with lower leg injury. Gainesville Sun. https://www.gainesville.com/story/sports/college/football/2025/07/28/florida-football-qb-dj-lagway-entering-fall-camp-with-lower-leg-injury/85362366007/

CFbStats.com – 2024 National team leaders. (n.d.-c). https://cfbstats.com/2024/leader/national/team/offense/split01/category09/sort01.html

CFbStats.com – 2024 National team leaders. (n.d.-d). https://cfbstats.com/2024/leader/national/team/defense/split01/category09/sort01.html

Wikipedia contributors. (2025m, July 18). 2025 Florida Gators football team. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_Florida_Gators_football_team