5 days Ago
After an action-packed Week 12 in college football, ESPN’s Greg McElroy shared his takeaways and broke down the week’s biggest games on his podcast, "Always College Football." He discussed No. 12 Georgia's season-saving win over No.
7 Tennessee, No. 1 Oregon's "gritty" win on the road at Wisconsin, Texas' offense, the Heisman Trophy conversation and more. McElroy also shouted out the Florida Gators, a team that has won two national championships this century but has struggled in recent years.
During the podcast, he named the Gators as “ one of the most improved teams in the country .” The Gators defeated No. 22 LSU, 27-16, on Saturday, bringing them within one win of becoming bowl-eligible after having arguably the toughest schedule in the nation .
"Now they knock off LSU this past weekend," McElroy said. "What's most significant about this performance is Florida now gets to 5-5. They need just one win to get to bowl eligibility, and it can come this week, perhaps against a Top 10 Ole Miss team, or it could come against a 1-9 Florida State team.
A win in either gets into the postseason, and most people coming into the season thought that that was highly unlikely." Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports Before Saturday's win over LSU, the Gators had lost the last nine of ten to main rivals (LSU, Florida State, Tennessee, and Georgia) and are 3-14 against ranked opponents. To begin the 2024 season, they were blown out twice in the first three games (Miami, Texas A&M), and head coach Billy Napier's hot seat appeared to be scorching.
Florida fans wanted him fired, and Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin responded by releasing a statement committing to Napier. Since then, Napier and his players have kept working, holding late leads against Tennessee and Georgia and knocking off LSU. McElroy has taken notice of Florida's play, saying, "they've continued to improve," and even went as far as saying they are a "live underdog this weekend against Ole Miss.
" "This season could have looked a lot different," McElroy added. "But they've just continued to grind away. They've continued to improve.
And now I think they're a live underdog this weekend against Ole Miss. Again, surely a heavy favorite against Florida State." Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images Florida's production primarily comes from freshmen and sophomores.
Looking ahead to 2025, McElroy thinks they've got a chance to be a really dangerous team. "A young roster where a vast majority of their production is coming from freshman and sophomore," he said. "They'll get 15 extra practices here in the winter to kind of jumpstart the 2025 season.
So, very exciting times for Florida coming up. I think they've got a chance to be a real dangerous team in 2025 if their youth can continue to develop." Related: Greg McElroy Nailed Predictions for Two Major College Football Upsets on Saturday Related: Nick Saban Names The Best Team in The SEC.
