At the onset of his tenure, Billy Napier spent lavishly on facility improvements, scouting, and player benefits. It was said that Florida was far behind the top SEC programs in terms of bells and whistles. Correlate that Napier closed the NCAAF future odds gap. But he has not outshone his predecessor, Dan Mullen, on the recruiting trail or in the win column. Mullen was fired for a perceived lack of enthusiasm for recruiting. But his win percentage was .694 compared to Napier’s .500, which is far below even Ron Zook’s .622.
2025 SBG College Football Futures: Florida Gators
| Odds to Win National Championship: | +4000 |
|---|---|
| Odds to Win Florida Championship: | +1800 |
| Over/Under Win Total: | 7.5 |
2025 Florida Gators Schedule
- Aug 30 vs. LIU
- Sep 6 vs. USF Bulls
- Sep 13 at LSU Tigers
- Sep 20 at Miami-FL
- Sep 27 OFF
- Oct 4 vs. Texas
- Oct 11 at Texas A&M
- Oct 18 vs Mississippi State
- Oct 25 OFF
- Nov 1 vs. Georgia
- Nov 8 at Kentucky
- Nov 15 at Ole Miss
- Nov 22 vs. Tennessee
- Nov 29 vs. Florida State
When Billy Napier took over as head coach of the Florida Gators in 2022, it was reminiscent of when George Allen took over the Washington Redskins. To show, Allen’s owner at Washington said of his new coach a few weeks after his hiring, “We gave George an unlimited budget, and he has already exceeded it.” Correlate that when Napier took over, he was also given an unlimited sports betting budget.
Now, Napier begins the 2025 campaign on one of the hottest seats in 2025 college football futures betting. And will try and survive against one of the most brutal schedules of any team this season. Napier won his final four games of 2024 to earn a stay of execution. But that is all he got, and anything less than that is an almost certain date with the firing squad.
Much of Gators coach Billy Napier’s future seems tied to DJ Lagway. Consider that Lagway showed a lot of promise in his first season, throwing for 1,915 yards with 12 touchdowns and nine interceptions. Lagway was a limited participant in spring practice while recovering from a shoulder injury and other ailments. In turn, he has started throwing again, and Napier is confident he’ll be fully healthy in offseason workouts.
The Gators returned much of their offensive line, two solid running backs. Additionally, they have a recruiting class that includes promising wide receivers Dallas Wilson and Vernell Brown III. If Lagway stays healthy, the Gators should build on last season’s strong finish. However, they’ll again face one of the most challenging schedules in the FBS, featuring home games against Texas, Georgia (Jacksonville), and Tennessee. In turn, there are road games at LSU, Miami, Texas A&M, and Ole Miss.
All things considered, Florida would like to be missing more big SEC teams. Indeed, Florida doesn’t have to face Alabama, and missing Missouri and Oklahoma is a nice benefit. On the other hand, that means a whole lot of killers are still there to deal with. Arkansas, Auburn, South Carolina, and Vanderbilt are dangerous. Still, there are five or six teams the Gators would rather miss.
The Gators really should be far better in 2025. Yet the record won’t come close to reflecting it. There will be a surprise or two, but there will also be a loss somewhere that shouldn’t. They’ll become bowl-eligible, but it won’t happen until late November.