The start of the next college football season is still several months away and even further into the future is bowl season, when the top half of the collegiate sport reaps the rewards for its successes or the penalty of failure — depending upon the expectations at the start of fall.
Coming off its second-straight losing season hopes are not too high for Florida football but the Gator Nation is scrutinizing head coach Billy Napier a bit more closely as he starts the second year of his tenure. His 6-7 record during his debut season is not going to cut it long-term in Gainesville, but he also deserves some slack as he rebuilds the program from the bottom brick.
With that said, national championship aspirations are pretty much non-existent but the program can show some improvement by playing in a better bowl game next time around. Take a look below at where 247Sports’ writer Brad Crawford sees things shaking out for both the Orange and Blue and the rest of the SEC.
Texas Bowl
Justin Ford/Getty Images
Projected matchup: Oklahoma Sooners vs. Arkansas Razorbacks
Music City Bowl
Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
Projected matchup: Florida Gators vs. Iowa Hawkeyes
Liberty Bowl
Justin Ford/Getty Images
Projected matchup: Kentucky Wildcats vs. Oklahoma State Cowboys
Mayo Bowl
Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports
Projected matchup: NC State Wolfpack vs. Ole Miss Rebels
Reliaquest Bowl
Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports
Projected matchup: South Carolina Gamecocks vs. Minnesota Gophers
Taxslayer Bowl
Syndication: Florida Times-Union
Projected matchup: Texas A&M Aggies vs. Duke Blue Devils
Citrus Bowl
Syndication: Montgomery
Projected matchup: Penn State Nittany Lions vs. Tennessee Volunteers
Peach Bowl
Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
Projected matchup: Alabama Crimson Tide vs. Clemson Tigers
Cotton Bowl
Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Projected matchup: LSU Tigers vs. Texas Longhorns
CFB Playoff Semifinal (Sugar Bowl)
Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports
Projected matchup: No. 1 Georgia Bulldogs vs. No. 4 Ohio State Buckeyes
CFB Playoff National Championship (Lucas Oil Stadium)
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Projected matchup: No. 1 Georgia Bulldogs vs. No. 2 Michigan Wolverines
Read more
[lawrence-auto-related count=5 category=1368]
Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.
Story originally appeared on Gators Wire
Source: News