Brutal November schedule puts pressure on Florida early in 2024

Florida needs a hot start to its 2024 season.

The SEC released its football schedule for next season, and ESPN projects the Gators to have the conference's toughest schedule after it had the second-toughest schedule in the country in 2023.

That's mainly due to a November gauntlet that could sink Florida's season. On Nov. 2, the Gators play Georgia in Jacksonville, followed by a road trip to Texas on Nov. 9, home games against LSU (Nov. 16) and Ole Miss (Nov. 23), and a season-ending road game in Tallahassee against Florida State on Nov. 30.

Its first seven games are more manageable but offer potential pitfalls, too. Florida opens the season on Aug. 31 in an out-of-conference game against Miami, which is in the running for top transfer portal quarterbacks including Cam Ward, Dante Moore and Will Howard, as well as Texas A&M under new head coach Mike Elko, Tennessee and Kentucky.

Head coach Billy Napier is entering his third season in charge in Gainesville, and it seems unlikely he could survive another losing season despite landing 2024's fifth-ranked recruiting class headlined by three five-star prospects, including quarterback D.J. Lagway, defensive lineman L.J. McCray and cornerback Xavier Filsaime.

The Gators had a losing record for the third year in a row in 2023, the first time that's happened since 1945-47. Only once in program history have they had four consecutive seasons (1935-38). Unless Florida wins games early next season, its recent struggles will extend for at least one more year.