Florida head coach Jon Sumrall demands a winning standard in Gainesville, but analysts predict a lackluster postseason landing spot as the Gators navigate a grueling transition and quarterback uncertainty.
After inheriting a team that went 4-8 last season, new head coach Jon Sumrall expects Florida to make a bowl game in the upcoming season, and he made it clear that something drastic would happen if the Gators didn't go bowling.
“I've got an expectation to win every game we play," Sumrall said on Action Sports Jax. "That's my expectation. I'm not comfortable with anybody going, 'Hey, how many games are you comfortable winning this year?' If anybody tells me, 'Hey, bowl eligible,' I'm like, 'Yeah, we better be. Or I'll be on top of the stadium getting ready to do something stupid.'
"You have to have urgency every day. I think as soon as you put a ceiling or a cap on what you can do and start to think with limits in mind, you're automatically handicapping yourself. And so for me, man, our expectation is for our guys to expect to win every freaking time we take the field.”
Brad Crawford of CBS Sports thinks the Gators are on the right path to make a bowl game, though the contest might not be what fans had in mind.
He's projecting Florida to play Oklahoma State in the Liberty Bowl.
The Liberty Bowl isn't exactly the most prestigious bowl, and Oklahoma State, with a new head coach in the Big 12, isn't the most exciting opponent.
However, the Gators would do much better to play in that game than do what they did last December.
It will take Florida some time to build its new program under Sumrall. He needs to bring in his recruits before things really start to get going in Gainesville.
In the meantime, Florida has plenty of other issues to sort out as the program's foundation gets built, like who will be under center. Aaron Philo or Tramell Jones Jr. will not be the elite quarterback that leads IUF to the College Football Playoff this year.
The offensive line is another unknown, with Sumrall noted this spring that they need to become a lot more physical to weather the nine-game SEC schedule this fall.