Florida may surprise some in 2025
College Football Expert Gives Florida Gators 2025 Record Prediction originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
The Florida Gators enter the 2025 football season with high expectations from their fans and many around the sport. After finishing last season 8-5, including a four-game winning streak to end the year, head coach Billy Napier is hoping to make a run to the College Football Playoff in his fourth year at the helm.
Phenom quarterback DJ Lagway is entering his second season in Gainesville and is now the full-time starter for the Gators after making seven starts as a freshman in 2025.
With the pair of Napier and Lagway leading Florida's charge, On3's J.D. PicKell made his record prediction for the orange and blue on Thursday, which may surprise the Gator faithful.
"For me, final record prediction for Florida; eight wins, four losses, and the party rolls on," PicKell said.
An 8-4 record would hand the Gators their second consecutive regular season with this mark, and would, in all likelihood, leave them out of the 12-team playoff come bowl season.
Even though Florida boasts highly touted talent at quarterback with Lagway, a running back in Jadan Baugh and is returning lots of production, PicKell is wary of Florida's gauntlet of a schedule, which is ranked as the hardest in the country, according to ESPN.
"For the first time since Billy Napier got the job, you feel like you actually have what you need, on paper at least," he said. "I don't think anybody is out on Florida at a talent level or a roster level. Where people start to differ is 'well, what are they going to do when it comes to the schedule.'"
PicKell predicted that Florida's wins will come against the Long Island Sharks, USF Bulls, Miami Hurricanes, Mississippi State Bulldogs, Georgia Bulldogs, Kentucky Wildcats, Ole Miss Rebels and Florida State Seminoles. If his predictions are correct, it would mean the Gators knock off Georgia for the first time since 2020 and beat Florida State for the second straight year.
He said that the Gators will lose to the LSU Tigers, Texas Longhorns, Texas A&M Aggies and Tennessee Volunteers. Out of these four, the only loss that may seem surprising is the one against Tennessee. This late November matchup will take place in The Swamp, where the Volunteers haven't beaten Florida since 2003.
With the Gators' ridiculously hard schedule, an 8-4 record may not get them in the CFP, but would signify a positive year for Napier and Florida for the second season in a row.
Related: ESPN Reveals Florida's Biggest Swing Game of 2025 Season
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 24, 2025, where it first appeared.
Category: General Sports
