10 teams who could make their first College Football Playoff in 2019
By Nick Villano
8. Florida
To be completely honest, it’s hard to predict another SEC team on the list because of the daunting schedule they always face. However, Florida doesn’t have to face Alabama until a possible SEC Title Game, where if they won they’d almost be a sure bet to make the College Football Playoff.
Florida plays it’s two biggest rivals in Miami and Florida State, and they take on the latter in the last week of their regular season. Even if FSU has another down year, the Gators can dominate them on a national platform. We don’t have to wait long, as the Gators-Hurricanes matchup will kick off the college football season on August 24th.
The schedule, in general, is in the Gators’ favor. Their hardest away game is against the LSU Tigers in early October. They have a couple of other high-profile road games against the Missouri Tigers and South Carolina. Even on the road, those are winnable games for Florida.
The Gators find themselves in the top ten in just about every preseason poll. Dan Mullen’s first season put the team back on track, winning 10 games after a disastrous 4-7 campaign in 2017. It didn’t take long for Mullen to right the ship.
Florida is returning eight starters on the defensive side of the ball. That’s huge for them, especially after retaining defensive coordinator Todd Grantham.
As with most of these teams, the quarterback position is one to watch. Feleipe Franks returns to hopefully lead the Gators to another great season. He got better as the year goes on. If he gets even better with a good offseason workout program, then he could be another quarterback to get into national conversations.