College Football Playoff: 5 teams that could make it for the first time in 2020

Without hesitation, the Power 5 team with the best shot of making the College Football Playoff for the first time in 2020 is the Florida Gators. They’ve become a top-10 again under Dan Mullen, and if they can beat two of their three biggest rivals and get to Atlanta, then the Gators will have their greatest opportunity at the playoff to date. How does Florida get this thing done?

Well, Florida benefits from having a soft non-conference. Yes, the Gators have to play in-state rival Florida State down in Tallahassee, but the Seminoles are still two or three years away from being relevant under new head coach Mike Norvell. As for the eight-game SEC slate, Florida has two tough home games and two tough “away” games.

Getting Kentucky early at Ben Hill Griffin could be a plus or a negative depending on how you view that. Kentucky hates Florida and will have Terry Wilson back in at quarterback. Obviously, the hardest home game will be vs. cross-divisional rival LSU, but again, the Bayou Bengals won’t have Joe Burrow anymore and it will be Myles Brennan going up against Kyle Trask.

The road game up in Knoxville vs. Tennessee will be incredibly difficult, and one Florida could totally lose. Jeremy Pruitt has the Vols back to good entering year three. But of course, the most important game on Florida’s schedule is the one down in Jacksonville. If the Gators hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over Georgia and win the SEC East, all they’d need to is win in Atlanta.

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