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Florida Football: Game-by-game predictions for 2021 season

By Connor Muldowney

ARLINGTON, TEXAS - DECEMBER 30: Quarterback Emory Jones #5 of the Florida Gators looks to pass against the Oklahoma Sooners during the third quarter at AT&T Stadium on December 30, 2020 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
ARLINGTON, TEXAS - DECEMBER 30: Quarterback Emory Jones #5 of the Florida Gators looks to pass against the Oklahoma Sooners during the third quarter at AT&T Stadium on December 30, 2020 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /
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Dan Mullen has to be sick when he looks back at the 2020 season. Florida football had plenty of success and finished the regular season with two losses but one was a shocker at Texas A&M while the other was a completely avoidable home loss to LSU. The latter has to haunt Mullen.

If Marco Wilson never tosses his shoe, LSU doesn’t move into field goal position. If LSU doesn’t move into field goal position, the Tigers don’t make the game-winner with essentially no time left. If the Tigers don’t make the game-winner, Florida might be in that playoff conversation ahead of the SEC title game and that would be added motivation to upset Alabama.

Instead, Wilson did throw his shoe, the Gators lost to LSU and were effectively eliminated from playoff contention, and then they lost in the SEC title game to Alabama despite a solid effort.

Florida must now move forward without Kyle Trask, Kyle Pitts, and Kadarius Toney, to name a few departing stars. The Gators will return plenty of talent on both sides of the ball, but starting a new quarterback in the SEC could be a recipe for disaster.

You can never truly count out a Mullen-coached team, however, and he brings in a top recruiting class along with a defense that should only improve.

Talent isn’t an issue, but experience might just be in 2021.

Will the Gators make a strong playoff push for a second straight year?

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