In the spirit of the Paris Olympics, there’s one thing everybody agrees on about Florida football in 2024. The schedule must have been planned by the same people who brainstormed the Olympic triathlon.
“Hey, why don’t we have competitors swim in a river that’s doubled as a sewer since the Middle Ages?”
Fortunately, no triathletes have reported E. coli infections after last week’s swim in the Seine River. I can also report the International Olympic Committee had no say in the Gators’ schedule.
It was designed by athletic director Scott Stricklin. And, contrary to the howls from the SEC riverbank, he deserves credit for Florida taking the impending plunge.
Sure, things could get icky. Triathletes reported swimming past some unsavory floating objects last week.
But wouldn’t you rather watch the Gators churn it up against Miami than Mercer? Isn’t playing against UCF more compelling than walking over MTSU?
That would be Middle Tennessee State University, one of four tomato cans Ole Miss has lined up for its run to the College Football Playoff. Every SEC school has a tough 8-game conference slate.
Their real courage — or foolhardiness — is measured by their nonconference opponents. Some have one big clash, like Texas-Michigan. Then their menus turn into nonstop cupcakes.
Stricklin has always been averse to serving fans empty calories.
It’s not unusual for us to play a difficult schedule,” he said. “The University of Florida has never shied away from that.”
There is difficult, then there is suicidal. UF’s schedule looks more like the latter, but it wasn’t totally by design.
FSU will always be penciled in. And in 2019, UF announced future series against Miami, UCF, NC State, Colorado, Arizona State and Texas. In February 2021, it lined up Notre Dame for 2031 and 2032.
Five months later, the bombshell hit.
Texas and Oklahoma would join the SEC at an undetermined date. That date turned out to be June 1, 2024.
There are no more divisions. For UF, that means annual games against Vanderbilt and South Carolina vanished. Those weren’t sure wins, but they were easier than facing Texas or Ole Miss.
The Gators’ only (supposedly) sure nonconference win is against Samford. Then it’s Miami, UCF and FSU.
Had Stricklin known in 2019 that Texas and Oklahoma were SEC-bound, he might not have been so aggressive lining up name-brand opponents. But he doesn’t apologize for ending up with the toughest schedule in the nation.
“Players want to play in games like that,” he said, “and fans want to watch games like that.”
Florida has sold about 65,000 season tickets, which is 7,000 more than at this point last year. If nothing else, the banks of the Seine will be lined with spectators this fall.
As for future scheduling, a lot depends on the CFP selection committee. The playoff expands from four to 12 teams this year, and it will probably balloon to 16 before long.
A team’s strength of schedule will be a big part of the committee’s selection criteria. If playing and possibly losing to quality teams is a plus, fans can look forward to more Notre Dames.
But…
“If they reward shiny won-loss records against soft schedules, then everyone will pull back,” Stricklin said. “And the regular season won’t be as good for fans.”
Surveying some 2024 schedules, it appears some teams have already pulled back. Missouri fans will be treated to Murray State, Buffalo, Boston College and UMass. Apparently, E .coli State was unavailable.
Four relatively sure wins will give the Tigers a shiny record. But how many demerits will the CFP selection committee give Mizzou for being so risk averse?
Nobody expects Florida to be a topic of playoff discussion this year. The biggest impact the schedule will have will be on Billy Napier’s job prospects.
In his quiet hours, Napier may envy Missouri’s schedule. But publicly, he’s embraced the impending plunge.
“Maybe it causes (players) to do a little bit extra. Maybe it causes them to be a little more focused, a little more detail oriented,” Napier said. It’s kind of like sharpening the axe to get ready to chop down that tree.
“Sharpen that axe, which we can.”
They’d better be sharp, starting Aug. 31 against Miami.
Either way, it’ll be more fun watching Florida take big swings against tall trees than chop down a bunch of saplings.
David Whitley is The Gainesville Sun’s sports columnist. Contact him at dwhitley@gannett.com. Follow him on X @DavidEWhitley
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Florida football schedule is treacherous but admirable
The Gainesville Sun
