Florida Football: What are realistic expectations for 2021 season?

Dan Mullen has Florida football headed in the right direction, going 29-9 in his first three seasons as the Gators’ head coach.

But for some reason, there’s a sour taste in everyone’s mouths because the Gators were seconds (literally) away from making a playoff. If not for a shoe toss (sorry, won’t bring it up again), Florida would have finished the regular season with a 9-1 record and even that loss to Texas A&M was nearly a victory. Two plays were the difference between a 10-0 regular season and 8-2.

And then there was the demoralizing loss to Alabama in the SEC title game. The Gators nearly pulled off the upset but lost by six.

Oklahoma then wiped the floor with Florida in the Cotton Bowl because, well, the Gators didn’t really have anything to play for at that point. Sure, a New Year’s Six bowl would have been nice, but missing the playoff in avoidable fashion was heartbreaking.

With Kyle Trask, Kadarius Toney, and Kyle Pitts gone, there are some huge shoes to fill in Gainesville.

So what are the realistic expectations for the Gators after a once-promising 8-4 season in 2020?

Realistic expectations for Florida football in 2021

Mullen is bringing in one of the best recruiting classes in the country and returns nine total starters. That may not seem like much, but key players on the offensive line are back, Jacob Copeland returns at receiver, the backfield is loaded, Zachary Carter should have a huge season defensively, linebackers should be a strength, and the defensive backfield should be improved.

The defense should be much better than it was last year and, let’s face it, it can’t get much worse. And as long as Emory Jones can stay out of turnover trouble, he should be solid at quarterback under Mullen in 2021. He was a highly-touted recruit a few years ago and hopes are high.

The backfield is going to be loaded, especially with Demarkcus Bowman transferring in from Clemson and the receiving corps has Copeland, Xzavier Henderson, Justin Shorter, and Trent Whittemore who could all be explosive.

Florida has plenty of potential so it’s not crazy to expect another New Year’s Six bowl but I think the Gators are a year away from really being a playoff team.

Expect Mullen and the Gators to win 9-10 games and make another NY6 bowl with a relatively favorable schedule.