Graham Mertz Sounds Off On Florida's Insanely Difficult 2024 Schedule

The Florida Gators hold the title for the toughest schedule in the nation ahead of the 2024 college football season.

UF, who went unranked in the recently released AP Poll, will face eight ranked teams this season. Four of those matchups are against teams within the top 10. The slate also includes a brutal final stretch that features five straight games against Top 25 opponents.

No. 1 Georgia (neutral site) and road trips to No. 4 Texas and No. 10 Florida State headline Florida's to-do list. UF also hosts No. 6 Ole Miss and No. 13 LSU and visits No. 15 Tennessee.

The schedule is especially difficult considering Florida's recent struggles under third-year head coach Billy Napier. The Gators are coming off three straight losing seasons dating back to Dan Mullen's final season at the helm in 2021.

Florida will need a productive season from senior quarterback Graham Mertz to navigate its daunting schedule. According to the former Wisconsin transfer, Florida isn't shying away from the pressure.

“If you’re a competitor, if you play this game, you want a schedule like that,” Mertz said on The Paul Finebaum Show . “You want to get everybody’s best. You don’t want a schedule that’s the easiest in the country. I mean that’s not why you play the game, that’s not why you come to Florida."

Mertz transferred to UF ahead of the 2023 season following four seasons at Wisconsin. The 6-foot-3, 216-pound passer threw for 2,903 yards with 20 touchdowns to three interceptions last season. Mertz also accounted for four scores on the ground.

For Mertz to help keep the Gators competitive in the toughest schedule in the country, Florida will have to keep his jersey clean much better than it did last season. UF allowed 39 sacks, 115th in the FBS, in 2023.

Florida's first test will come in the season opener against No. 19 Miami at home. The in-state rivalry is one of the most notable matchups of Week 1. Kickoff is set for Aug. 31 at 3:30 p.m. ET (ABC).

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