Florida Gators 2025 College Football Playoff chances could hinge on one major rivalry game
The Florida Gators are entering a crucial year for their development. Head coach Billy Napier is firmly on the hot seat after starting 19-19 in his first three years at the helm in Gainesville. He nearly received his walking papers last year, but found a way to get the team in a better spot both […]
The Florida Gators are entering a crucial year for their development. Head coach Billy Napier is firmly on the hot seat after starting 19-19 in his first three years at the helm in Gainesville. He nearly received his walking papers last year, but found a way to get the team in a better spot both short and long-term by winning the final four games of the 2024 season.
Those wins are mainly due to the success of DJ Lagway, but the entire roster was excellent, especially in the trenches. The return of star players like Caleb Banks, Tyreak Sapp, Jake Slaughter, and Austin Barber are all going to be huge factors in potentially making the College Football Playoff.
ESPN’s Heather Dinich broke down the 32 teams with a realistic chance to make the playoff, and the Gators made it with a 14.5% chance to make the playoff and 0.7% chance to win the national championship per ESPN analytics. Where things are really interesting is the Gators’ toughest schedule in the country for a second-consecutive season.
There is one game that could end up helping the Gators more than any other is their biggest non-conference opponent in the Miami Hurricanes, a game that will be played away from The Swamp.
The committee factors in the intangibles of rivalry games, and an in-state win against what should be a ranked Canes team would earn Florida some credit in the room. It could increase in value if Miami wins the ACC and clinches a spot in the playoff as one of the committee’s five highest-ranked conference champs. Even if Miami doesn’t win the ACC, the head-to-head tiebreaker could be a factor in the room if both teams are competing for an at-large spot. This is also the kind of nonconference win that could help separate Florida from the Big 12 runner-up if they’re competing for an at-large spot.
It’s going to be a long road for the Gators to make the playoff, but they can build up the resume to earn a playoff spot with a lot of hard work and a successful season.
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