Avoiding double trouble is the key for Florida's 2025 season

The Gators made life miserable for LSU QB Garrett Nussmeier last year (Photo by Chris Spears)

“I’m not one to complain now son, I tell you true

When the black cat cross your trail, Lord

It comes in misery times two” – from “Double Trouble” by Lynyrd Skynyrd

Can the Florida Gators avoid trouble times two in 2025? The difference in the championship season envisioned by head ball coach Billy Napier and a season of almosts could come down to two back-to-back games on the schedule: at No. 9 LSU September 13 and at No. 10 Miami September 20; No. 1 Texas at The Swamp October 4 and at No. 19 Texas A&M October 11.

After facing Long Island University and South Florida at The Swamp in the first two games, the Gators hit that first critical juncture, road games at LSU and Miami. A 2-0 start and the Gators will vault from their No. 15 ranking to likely in the top eight. The Gators will stay top 20 if they split those first two, but 0-2? That is a deep hole that will take a lot of digging to get out of.

Now, both those games are winnable. Florida will certainly go into Tiger Stadium with plenty of confidence. The Gators snuffed out LSU’s SEC Championship Game and College Football Playoff hopes last year at The Swamp when the defense made life miserable for Garrett Nussmeier, who was seeing ghosts in the fourth quarter. Getting sacked six times and nearly sacked six others will do that for you. Florida’s offensive line didn’t give up a sack and the Gators didn’t turn the ball over. If DJ Lagway can pilot the offense to a turnover-free game and the defense does its part, this game is very winnable. LSU is transfer heavy, but the Tigers are 19-2 at home under Brian Kelly, 9-10 on the road. To Florida’s advantage, the game is two weeks following LSU’s road opener at Clemson.

While Miami has a top 10 ranking to start the season, the Hurricanes play a pansy schedule so they’re going to win nine or ten games. Florida is a game they could lose. Miami’s home field advantage isn’t exactly intimidating. There will be as many Florida fans in the stadium as Miami fans. If the Gators protect the ball and establish the running game, they can put points on the board. Miami will be quarterbacked by Carson Beck, who last year at Georgia threw three interceptions and was sacked twice by the Gators. Miami’s season opener is against Notre Dame. If the Canes lose, then this will have the atmosphere of a playoff game. Two losses in September could absolutely kill Miami’s season.

A 2-0 effort in those two games is ideal for the Gators, but 1-1 won’t necessarily destroy the season.

Texas, especially if the Gators are 4-0, will be the most hyped game in the country because it will be Arch Manning going against DJ Lagway, maybe the two quarterbacks who will duke it out for the Heisman Trophy when all is said and done. This is going to be the most difficult road game in Texas’ short time in the SEC. The Swamp will be rocking and Arch Manning will discover what decibels are all about when the fourth quarter arrives is this one is a white knuckler. On the road, this might be a belly up game for the Gators, but at home, Florida might be favored, especially if UF is off to a good start.

Texas A&M in College Station is my prediction as Florida’s toughest game of the season. A 5-0 start, while the oddsmakers think is unlikely, isn’t beyond question. Here is where the problem will be. The Gators will be coming off an enormous emotional game against Texas. Maintaining that emotional edge on consecutive weeks is going to be very difficult, particularly at Kyle Field, which will have more than 102,000 jammed into the rafters. The Aggies are 25-7 at Kyle Field since 2020. One of those home losses was to Billy Napier and the Gators in 2022 when Anthony Richardson had perhaps his best game as a Gator.  

It will be midseason after the Texas A&M game and we should have a really good clue as to Florida’s chances to make the College Football Playoff. If the Gators are 4-2 or better, they will be very much in the hunt for the playoff. Florida’s schedule is so brutal that a 9-3 or better season should get the Gators into the playoff. If the Gators come out of these four games 1-3 or 0-4, this is a season that could go south.

Prediction: The Gators will go 3-1 and will be 5-1 at midseason.  

CBS SPORTS PRESEASON ALL-AMERICA

First team offense

QB: Cade Klubnik, Clemson; RB: Jeremiyah Love, Notre Dame, and Nicholas Singleton, Penn State; WR: Jeremiah Smith, Ohio State, and Ryan Williams, Alabama; TE: Eli Stowers, Vanderbilt; OT: Spencer Fango, Utah, and Francis Mauigoa, Miami; OG: Ar’maj Reed-Adams, Texas A&M, and Olaovavega Ioane, Penn State; C: JAKE SLAUGHTER, FLORIDA; AP: Desmond Reid, Pittsburgh

First team defense

DE: Colin Simmons, Texas, and Dylan Stewart, South Carolina; DT: Peter Woods, Clemson, and Zane Durant, Penn State; LB: Anthony Hill, Texas; Kyle Louis, Pittsburgh; and CJ Allen, Georgia; CB: Leonard Moore, Notre Dame, and Jermod McCoy, Tennessee; S: Caleb Downs, Ohio State, and Dillon Thieneman, Oregon

First team specialists

PK: Dominic Zvada, Michigan; P: Brett Thorson, Georgia; RET Barrion Brown, LSU

Second team offense

QB: Garrett Nussmeier, LSU; RB: Jaydn Ott, Oklahoma, and Isaac Brown, Louisville; WR: Jordyn Tyson, Arizona State, and Elijah Sarratt, Indiana; TE: Max Klare, Ohio State; OT: Kadyn Proctor, Alabama, and Isaiah World, Oregon; OG: Cayden Green, Missouri, and Jaeden Roberts, Alabama; C: Nick Dawkins, Penn State; AP: Zachariah Branch, Georgia

Second team defense

DE: TJ Parker, Clemson, and Matayo Uiagalelei, Oregon; DT: Christen Miller, Georgia, and Mikail Kamara, Indiana; LB: Gabe Jacas, Illinois; Whit Weeks, LSU; and Sonny Styles, Ohio State; CB: Chandler Rivers, Duke, and Aveion Terrell, Clemson; S: Koi Perich, Minnesota, and KJ Bolden, Georgia

Second team specialists

PK: Peyton Woodring, Georgia; P: Palmer Williams, Baylor; RET: Keelan Marion, Miami

SEC FOOTBALL

Alabama: Speaking about newly anointed starting QB Ty Simpson, DT Tim Keenan says, “Ty , he can get up out that pocket. He got a little wiggle to him. He ain’t made me touch no grass or nothing like that, but he disappeared on me a couple of times. Ty, he be back there moving around.”

Arkansas: The starting offensive line looks like this: LT Corey Robinson (6-5, 311); LG Fernando Carmona (6-5, 325); C Caden Kitler (6-3, 305); RG Kobe Branham (6-5, 326); RT E’Marion Harris (6-7, 313).

Auburn: D-line coach Vontrell King-Williams says the Tigers have 10 linemen worthy of playing at least 10 snaps per game.

Georgia: Georgia has lost 60 players to the transfer portal since 2023. The Bulldogs have added 25 transfers to the roster. Tom Fornelli of CBS says, “… they don’t have the same level of replacements to compete at the same level as they did a few years ago.”

Kentucky: Kentucky added former Hawaii special co-special teams coordinator Jack Ray to the staff as assistant special teams coach. The Wildcats also added Yusuf Corker as a grad assistant helping with the secondary and Jervontius Stallings as a defensive line grad assistant.

LSU: Matt Zenitz of CBS Sports says the Tigers “have a chance to compete for an SEC title, a playoff spot and even a national championship” because “the defense is poised to be a lot better than it was last year.”

Mississippi State: The Bulldogs are depending on a number of junior college transfers to step in and play immediately at a high level. The 2024 defense gave up 456.4 yards and 34.1 points per game.

Missouri: A year ago Mizzou’s roster included three former 5-star recruits: wide receivers Luther Burden III and Theo Wease and defensive lineman Williams Nwaneri. Burden and Wease are now in the NFL while Nwaneri transferred to Nebraska.

Oklahoma: Walk-on wide receiver Jakeb Snyder was awarded a scholarship. Snyder got the word on a video message during a team meeting, delivered by Baker Mayfield and his wife. Mayfield was a walk-on at both Texas Tech and Oklahoma. The scholarship is named the Baker and Emily Mayfield Walk-on Scholarship.

Ole Miss: Missouri transfer Kewan Lacy and Logan Diggs, formerly of Notre Dame and LSU, are competing for the first team running back job. Lacy ran for 104 yards as a freshman at Mizzou last year. Diggs was injured in the only game he played and took a medical redshirt. At LSU two years ago, Diggs gained 653 yards while scoring seven touchdowns.

South Carolina: Sophomore Mazeo Bennett, who caught 30 passes for 337 yards and three touchdowns last season, is making a bid to be the go-to receiver for quarterback LaNorris Sellers.

Tennessee: This will be Tennessee’s final year with Nike. The Vols have signed a new 10-year deal with Adidas that goes into effect in July of 2026. The deal also includes NIL opportunities for UT athletes. Tennessee was an Adidas school before going with Nike more than 10 years ago.

Texas: After the Longhorns play Samford at home September 20, they won’t have another game in Austin until they play Vanderbilt at home November 1.

Texas A&M: HBC Mike Elko expects running back Le’Veon Moss to be back 100 percent by the time the Aggies open the season. Moss suffered a knee injury last November and didn’t participate in spring football practice. He ran for 765 yards and 10 touchdowns last year.

Vanderbilt: Diego Pavia dressed out Wednesday but only did conditioning work. There is no mention of any injury for the 6^th-year quarterback.

A MOMENT OF SELF-INDULGENCE

My book chronicling Florida’s brilliant run to the 2025 NCAA basketball championship is off to the editor and soon to the printer. The hope is that it will be ready to go at least a couple of weeks ahead of Florida’s season opener against Arizona in Las Vegas.

This championship season was special for me because the Gators lifted me up when I really needed a lift following the death of my stepfather and then the loss of my parrot, who sat on my shoulder faithfully while I wrote for 31 years. Also, this championship came 18 years after Billy Donovan and the Oh-Fours went back-to-back in 2006-07. I am no spring chicken. National championships don’t grow on trees. At 73 years old I wasn’t certain I would ever see another NCAA title in basketball, but Todd Golden told me last summer, “We got some dudes.” And, as I discovered starting with the season opener against South Florida, the dudes would abide.

The book takes the Gators from the season opener all the way to Walter Clayton Jr.’s defensive gem that sealed the win over Houston. To write about this championship has been an effort of love.