Florida HC Billy Napier's Take on Gators' Upcoming Schedule

Over the past two seasons, the issue of the Florida Gators' challenging schedule has been a recurring topic. However, the Gators spend little time worrying about it. In fact, head coach Billy Napier has turned the negative into a positive.

Before this season, analysts and fans drew attention to the difficulty of Florida's schedule. Indeed, the schedule presents significant challenges. If you include South Florida, which is now ranked, the Gators play eight games against ranked teams. While others seem to worry and lament the schedule, Napier remains unfazed.

"Yeah I mean we've played – look, this is who we've played in the past," Napier said this week. "We're very familiar with these teams. The players know each other, the coaches obviously know each other, respect each other. So, these are teams we played just one year ago, and we're very familiar with the scheme, the personnel, the venue, right? We know what it's going to be like, so we're capable. "

The coach's assertions make sense with Florida playing the same SEC opponents as last season and two of the same non-conference opponents in Miami and Florida State.

As a result, the familiarity with the talent base becomes a help instead of a hindrance. While some talent does shift due to graduation and transfer, the schemes usually stay the same.

This week, Texas A&M is the latest top ten team after losses to LSU and Miami and a win over Texas. After the win against Texas, the Gators hope to finish this stretch 2-2, which looks far better than 0-4 or 1-3. Moreover, the win against the Longhorns gives the team confidence to finish strong.

Florida also has No. 10 Georgia, No. 4 Ole Miss, No. 12 Tennessee and No. 25 Florida State left on the schedule.

"I mean, I think that's the big thing, is you wake up knowing that you've got the tools to do it," Napier said. "It's just going to be about who plays the best that day, you know? And that's reality in college football right now is you got to be ready to go each week, independent of the opponent. This is a heck of a challenge in particular."

While dripping in coach speak, Napier's point regarding who plays best that day rings true. Plus, it undercuts the notion that the Gators should be considered an underdog based on their record.

In all of their losses, they did not play well at all but still managed to keep it close late. For example, Florida led USF until late and trailed LSU by three points at halftime. After three quarters, Miami held a 13-7 lead until 4:08 in the fourth quarter.

Close will never be good enough. Coaches keep jobs on the strength of winning games, not staying competitive. Yet, Napier's teams possess the athletes to stay close and win, regardless of where they sit in the poll.

With five games against ranked teams left, how many of those can the Gators win?