Here’s where Florida stands in PFF’s 2023 college football rankings
The start of the 2023 college football season is just a little over a couple of months away, and as the first kickoff approaches, the sports media continues to lick its chops in anticipation of the upcoming campaign.
Among those prognosticating about the upcoming fall season is Pro Football Focus’ Steven Lassan, who recently published his rankings of all 133 Football Bowl Subdivision schools from top to bottom. His outlook for the Florida Gators was beyond bearish, picking the Orange and Blue to finish at No. 49 overall at the conclusion of the fall schedule.
Take a look at what Lassan had to say about Bill Napier’s boys.
With quarterback Anthony Richardson off to the NFL, a Florida team that’s in rebuild mode could be lucky just to get to a bowl in 2023. Second-year coach Billy Napier didn’t inherit a program that could be fixed overnight, so this fall could be another struggle before a step forward in ’24. Wisconsin transfer Graham Mertz had an uneven career in Madison but transferred to Gainesville for a fresh start and a chance to replace Richardson. The strength of the ’23 offense resides in the backfield with Trevor Etienne and Montrell Johnson returning. Standout guard O’Cyrus Torrence will be missed in the trenches, and the Gators also need to identify a couple of playmakers to take some of the pressure off of Ricky Pearsall at receiver. New coordinator Austin Armstrong is tasked with improving a defense that ranked near the bottom of the SEC in yards per play allowed (5.92), points allowed (28.8) and struggled to stop the run (175.2 yards per contest). Only four starters are back, so similar to the ’22 unit, this group could be a work in progress throughout the upcoming season.
The Gators open up their 2023 schedule on the road against the Utah Utes on Aug. 31, with a kickoff time of 8 p.m. EDT set.
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