Florida Football: Dan Mullen leads rebuilding Gators in 2018

Florida football is in a rebuilding year, but a new coach and a new sense of team unity could make the Gators contenders once again in the SEC East.

Looking for your favorite team? Find their preview on the 2018 Countdown to Kickoff

The Gators will have a great start to the 2018 season with three home games in a row in the Swamp. One of those games is against Kentucky, which even the weakened 2017 Gator squad managed to beat. Granted, it was close, but this is a new year. The Gators looked electrified in spring play and are intent on making noise in their first year under Dan Mullen.

I don’t think that the Gators are going to come sprinting out of the gate in 2018, but with a bit of luck and excellent coaching they could have a very respectable season. The first three games aren’t going to be cupcakes by any means, but none of the first three teams on the Gators’ schedule should give them much trouble if they show as much improvement as they have in the spring practice games.

The test for Florida will be the brutal run midseason.  Luckily for UF, fan expectations aren’t quite so high after last season. That means a solid with a good bowl should be enough to set the team up nicely for 2019. This team won’t be the Tebow-era Gator squad, but they have no place to go but up after last season.