Stanford Steve ‘won’t be shocked’ if Florida starts 4-0

Much has been made about the schedule for Florida football in 2024, but the beginning is manageable in the eyes of Stanford Steve . The ESPN commentator and betting analyst joined the Andy Staples On3 podcast recently, where he explained why he likes the Gators’ chances of starting off 4-0.

Florida faces Miami, Samford, Texas A&M and Mississippi State to kick off the season. If the Gators can get through the opener against the rival Hurricanes, the next three games are certainly winnable.

“I’m really, really rooting for Florida this year because I think all anyone says or has a comment on is about their schedule,” Stanford Steve explained. “I get it. (Billy Napier)’s come in 13th in the SEC in the last couple of recruiting classes and that’s not good enough for them down there. But if you look at that team, how many freshman they got experience last year.

“The idea that they were left for dead after that game against Utah and come back and beat a really good Tennessee team. Dominated that game. One of the best games I’ve seen from a defensive lineman in Cam Jackson , who’s one of my favorite players in the country. That place, Miami has to have their A-Game is what I’m getting to. I’m not sure they’re gonna have it in Week 1 because of all the parameters.”

Miami has an over/under win total of 9.5 this season compared to just 4.5 for Florida. The Hurricanes bring in a new quarterback with Cam Ward and a running back in Damien Martinez to rank No. 17 in the country according to the On3 Transfer Portal Team Rankings .

Despite that talent, Stanford Steve believes Florida could be more prepared early in the season because they bring back more players with experience playing together. That includes quarterback Graham Mertz , who threw for a career-high 2,903 yards and 20 touchdowns to only three interceptions this past season.

“I still think Florida is gonna have really good talent on defense,” Stanford Steve explained. “Mertz, look at the numbers. The guy was fantastic last year. The game I think that really, really hurt him — because they could’ve hung their hat on that one — was the Missouri game. Fourth-and-17. They outplayed Missouri that whole game. When you go back and look at what Missouri did through the course of this season, that was a lucky, lucky win and Florida dominated that game.

“I’m not saying they’re at the level of Georgia, but Florida could be 7-5 and be way, way ahead of where they were last year. I won’t be shocked if they start 4-0. I really won’t. I think they have the goods.”

If the Gators beat Miami, their next game should be an automatic win against Samford. After that they’d face the Aggies and Bulldogs, teams who they should be able to compete with.

Things get a bit tougher after that as they’ll host UCF before facing Tennessee and Kentucky. Their final five games are absolutely brutal with Georgia, Texas, LSU, Ole Miss and Florida State all on tap.

All that in mind, Stanford Steve noted that a hot start is critical for Florida if it hopes to make a bowl game this season. He believes that Billy Napier will have his team aware of that fact, leading to an increased effort to begin the year.

“This whole offseason with the Rashada debacle and still having to deal with all that, I think Billy’s done a really good job of keeping his players in line,” he said. “Because they know what’s at the end (of the schedule), they know how important the beginning is. I think they’re gonna come out very, very sharp in that opening start to the season. You have to start 4-0 with that UCF game and I think they have the capability to do that.”

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