Florida Football: 5 keys for a successful 2019 season

The 2019 season marks an important year for the Florida football. Can the Gators take another step forward or will they disappoint Gator Nation again?

With the onset of the 2019 college football campaign on the horizon, the Florida Gators find themselves at a crossroads as a program. After a decade of failing to meet the Gator Standard, 2018 saw a reversal of the trend. But Gainesville has witnessed one-year reversals before, only to be disappointed the very next season.

Simply put, 2019 could either be the year the Gators vault back into the national championship conversation or faulter like every other team in recent memory.

Success, of course, shouldn’t depend solely on a College Football Playoff berth – though many fans would argue that they should at least compete. As it stands, the Gators may still be one year away from being truly prepared to compete for the program’s fourth national title.

No one will throw a fit if Dan Mullen keeps the Gators ahead of schedule by winning at the highest levels of the sport in 2019, but of more concern should be the steps taken this year that lead to long-term success and winning.

The growth of the program in 2018 was palpable; 2019 needs to produce the same or greater progress.

With a nasty schedule waiting for them, the Gators may find themselves with a worse record than last year but be better positioned to achieve their goals in 2020.

And so, these five keys for success in 2019 aren’t necessarily centered on accomplishing a certain record – though finishing the year with a strong on-the-field season is a must – but instead are focused on how the program can continue to mature into an elite, yearly competitor.