Perhaps Billy Napier should channel his inner Todd Golden

Florida’s football schedule is brutal. Nothing new there. It was brutal last year, too, but there is a difference. This Florida team – ranked 15^th in the preseason by the Associated Press – has experience and depth that it didn’t have a year ago, not to mention as good a collection of skill people as you will find in the SEC, which is to say as good as you’ll find in the entire country. Defensive coordinator Ron Roberts has had a year to teach the creeper to his troops. If they play like they did the final four games last year, opposing quarterbacks and offensive tackles will see ghosts.

 We should stop short of calling the Gators loaded. For now, at least. If they go 2-0 with those back-to-back September roadies at LSU and Miami, then No. 1 Texas could be in a heap of trouble the first Saturday in October when the Longhorns pay a visit to The Swamp. The joint will be rocking. Arch Manning has never played before a crowd this loud or hostile. Yes, he goes to Ohio State game one, but the Horseshoe is Romper Room compared to The Swamp.

To go 5-0 out of the gate goes beyond reasonable expectations, but don’t for a second believe it’s impossible. If DJ Lagway is healthy and there are no significant injuries on either the offensive or defensive lines, the Gators are going to be good. Damn good.

Good enough to make it to Atlanta? It would be foolish to predict Florida will play for the Southeastern Conference championship, but any team that has as many good players as the Gators has a chance. Billy Napier says he has a team that parks egos at the door and goes to work with a sense of purpose, maybe even with a chip on the shoulder.

Jake Slaughter is an All-American center. The coaches didn’t even vote him first, second or third team All-SEC a year ago when he made first team All-America. The coaches loaded up their preseason All-SEC team with a lot of folks from Georgia, Alabama and Texas. Very few from Florida.

Billy Napier needs to channel his inner Todd Golden. Walter Clayton Jr. made every first team All-America known to college basketball, but some SEC coaches didn’t have him on their first team ballots. The SEC coaches didn’t think much of Will Richard or Alijah Martin, only the best tandem of perimeter defenders in the country. There were other slights. Golden put a chip on the Gators’ shoulders that stayed in place for a 12-0 finish to the season and a national championship.

There is something to be said about playing with a chip on your shoulder. If Billy Napier can put a two-ton chip on the Gators’ collective shoulders, the Gators might find themselves sniffing championships.

So, yeah, the schedule is tough, but Napier has enough talent to maneuver through it.  A chip on the shoulder wouldn’t hurt matters in the least.

THE REST OF THE SEC

No. 8 Alabama: If Ty Simpson struggles Saturday and Florida State puts up more than a fight, we’ll know Alabama could be in for trouble. Two weeks later Wisconsin comes to Tuscaloosa, but the real litmus test will be September 27 at Georgia. Alabama should be 3-0 going into that game. If the Tide leaves it 4-0 and Simpson makes few mistakes, then we’ll know that Alabama is the real deal. The Crimson Tide gets the benefit of the scheduling doubt because Tennessee, LSU and Oklahoma all have to play at Bryant-Denny Stadium. But, if Alabama fares poorly in September it will be a bad omen. Saturday: at Florida State

Arkansas: The Razorbacks should have no problems with Alabama A&M and Arkansas State in the first two games. Game three is at Ole Miss followed by a roadie at Memphis and a homer with Notre Dame. The rest of the schedule isn’t kind. Expect the Hog faithful to be calling for Sam Pittman to be skewered and barbecued by the time October rolls around. Saturday: vs. Alabama A&M

Auburn: We will know plenty about Auburn in game one. If Dave Aranda’s version of the creeper defense has Jackson Arnold seeing ghosts, the Tigers will be in deepest and darkest. Even if Arnold plays well, he will still have to contend with a gauntlet of back-to-back roadies at Oklahoma and Texas A&M followed by homers with Georgia and Missouri. The key to success is Arnold remembering that it’s best if he completes passes to his own team. If Auburn is 4-3 after the first seven games, the Tigers will be in for seven or eight wins. Friday: at Baylor

No. 5 Georgia: Folks are snickering that once the SEC goes to a 9-game conference schedule Georgia won’t be able to duck the tough teams in the league home or on the road. This year the Poodles get Alabama, Ole Miss and Texas in Athens. The Poodles do have to go to Tennessee in game three. If Gunner Stockton struggles against the Vols and the next week against Alabama, then Kirby Smart might be making the switch to true freshman QB Ryan Puglisi out of necessity. Georgia could just as easily lose three games this year as go 11-1. Saturday: vs. Marshall

Kentucky: Wildcat fans will be scrambling for Midnight Madness tickets game two when Ole Miss comes to town. Starting game four Kentucky’s schedule is at South Carolina, at Georgia, Texas, Tennessee at Auburn and Florida. If Mark Stoops can go 4-8 this year he might be a serious candidate for SEC Coach of the Year. Things are that bleak in Lexington. Saturday: vs. Toledo

No. 9 LSU: We’ll know plenty about LSU Saturday at Clemson. A road win against a Clemson team that a lot of folks have penciled in for the national championship game and we know LSU is legit. Florida comes to Baton Rouge two weeks later so if there is a hangover from the Clemson game, it’s quite possible that LSU’s national championship hopes will take a second torpedo to the bow. Nobody seems to be concerned that Garrett Nussmeier completed 12 passes to the other team last year when Brian Kelly told the world he had the best O-line in college football. The best O-line is now in the NFL. Nussmeier will be seeing ghosts Saturday and again two weeks later. Two weeks after Florida, LSU has to go to Ole Miss. LSU will know what kind of season it is going to have by October 1. If LSU has two or three losses by that time the fan base is going to make life miserable for Kelly, who they already don’t like. Saturday: at No. 4 Clemson

Mississippi State: Two weeks after the Bulldogs travel to Southern Miss they get Alcorn State at home. MSU fans should savor those two games because the odds are good they won’t win another one. The situation in Starkville is bleak.  Saturday: at Southern Miss

Missouri: The Tigers don’t have to play a single team that is ranked among the 12 top teams in the preseason AP poll. They get South Carolina at home game four plus they have homers with Alabama and the Aggies. If you’re looking for a team that could surprise and go 9-3, Missouri is that team, especially if Penn State transfer QB Beau Pribula proves capable of playing winning football in the SEC. Thursday: vs. Central Arkansas

No. 18 Oklahoma: If John Mateer is as good as the hype, then the Sooners are going to be a team nobody wants to play. The schedule isn’t favorable with a pre-November gauntlet of Texas (in Dallas), at South Carolina and Ole Miss leading to a final month of at Tennessee, at Alabama, Missouri and LSU. Mateer better be that good. If he isn’t then Brent Venables will be standing on a street corner holding a sign that says “Will coach for beer.” If Mateer is that good Okie could shock the world. Saturday: vs. Illinois State

No. 21 Ole Miss: Most teams with 31 transfers and an inexperienced sophomore quarterback would be guaranteed toast in the SEC. Somehow Lane Kiffin has figured out how to navigate winning seasons in spite of the constant roster turnover. The Rebels should be 4-0 when LSU comes to town September 27. Win that one and the next week against Washington State and LSU will be bowl eligible before mid-October. Ole Miss doesn’t have to play Alabama or Texas. An eight or nine-win season seems imminent. Saturday: vs. Georgia State

No. 13 South Carolina: Way too much hype for the Gamecocks. LaNorris Sellers is a stud but there aren’t many studs capable of making big plays. Sellers is like Secretariat. The rest of the South Carolina roster is like a herd of Shetland ponies. The Gamecocks have to play at Missouri, at LSU, at Ole Miss and at Texas A&M. They get Oklahoma, Alabama and Clemson at home. A 6-6 or 7-5 season seems likely. Sunday: vs. Virginia Tech (in Atlanta)

No. 24 Tennessee: When he was playing juco football Joey Aguilar was thinking about quitting football to become a firefighter. No, not the team that plays the Savannah Bananas, but a real firefighter. When he gets his first glimpse of an SEC defense (Georgia game three) he might want to start taking firefighting courses online. The Vols have a bunch of games they will find difficult to lose. They also have games like Georgia, at Alabama, Oklahoma and at Florida that they could see their doors blown off. Figure 7-5 or 8-4. Saturday: vs. Syracuse (in Atlanta)

No. 1 Texas: Arch Manning gets thrown into the fire immediately at Ohio State. On October 4, he will find out why Florida is the toughest place to play in all of college football. Later on the Longhorns will play at Georgia and a homer with the Aggies. If Arch is as good as his gene pool, then Texas will be on cruise control by Thanksgiving weekend. If not, the Longhorns could lose three games and the big money boosters will be talking about drilling for enough oil so they can buy out Steve Sarkisian’s contract.  Saturday: at No. 3 Ohio State

No. 19 Texas A&M: The Aggies will know plenty about themselves game three when they go to Notre Dame. Three weeks later they get the Gators. They go to LSU NS Mizzou back-to-back then they have the Gamecocks at home. This isn’t the toughest schedule but somehow, someway, the Aggies always find a way to lose two or three games they should win. History says the Aggies go 8-4 at best. Saturday: vs. UT-San Antonio

Vanderbilt: QB Diego Pavia thinks the Commodores could win the SEC and challenge for the national championship. Somebody send him to Quest Diagnostics and have some blood drawn. He’s on something because the schedule includes roadies to South Carolina, Alabama, Texas and Tennessee. A repeat of last year’s 6-6 regular season record would be an accomplishment. That’s not a national championship, but Vandy measures football wins like dog years. Each win is like seven at Alabama. Saturday: vs. Charleston Southern