Florida Football: 2017 season preview, predictions

Florida football enters the 2017 with plenty of uncertainty, but how will the Gators fare in their quest for another division title?

Jim McElwain’s first two years as Florida’s head football coach have gone just as planned — well, almost. The Gators have won back-to-back SEC East crowns, but lost in the conference title game to, you guessed it, Alabama.

The Crimson Tide have had the Gators’ number over the past couple of years. Well, it’s safe to say Alabama has dominated the rest of the SEC for as long as Nick Saban has been in charge. Fortunately, McElwain knows what it takes to get to the conference title game, but is this the year he finally wins it?

There’s no doubting it, he’s a great coach. Not many coaches can take over a program in one of the nation’s premier conferences and lead it to back-to-back division titles. However, McElwain won’t be satisfied until he wins.

With a 19-8 mark through his first two years in Gainesville, McElwain has high hopes for his third season now that he has a number of his former recruits in place as starters. Heck, he’s even added a major transfer in former Notre Dame dual-threat quarterback Malik Zaire — although he’s not yet guaranteed the starting job.

Florida is facing some off-field issues, though. Seven players, including starting receiver Antonio Callaway, have been suspended for the season opener against Michigan. Will that spell doom against the Wolverines?

Let’s take a look at the 2017 season preview and predictions for Florida football.