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Urban Meyer on Gators' 2024 Squad: 'That Team Fought Their A** Off'
Sep 4, 2021; Gainesville, Florida, USA; Florida Gators former head coach Urban Meyer and Steve Spurrier on the sidelines during the first quarter against the Florida Atlantic Owls at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-Imagn Images Kim Klement-Imagn Images

Urban Meyer on Gators' 2024 Squad: 'That Team Fought Their A** Off'

Originally posted on Florida Gators on SI  |  By Cam Parker  |  Last updated Jun 26, 2025 12:45 PM ET

After a strong end to 2024 and multiple key players returning, expectations are high for the Florida Gators in 2025 despite a schedule that includes three playoff teams and three more who were in contention for a playoff spot deep into the season.

A coach who knows all-too-well about the expectations at Florida, despite coaching in a completely different era, is Urban Meyer, who led the Gators to two national titles and two SEC titles in six seasons leading the program from 2005-10.

On a recent episode of the Triple Option podcast, Meyer provided his win total prediction for the Gators in 2025, with an over/under set at 7.5 regular-season wins.

"I actually think they're going to be above the 7.5," he said. "Here's why. The book was written on Florida last year. It was over. They lost early. They lost bad early... That team fought their a** off, man...

"I still have so many friends involved at Florida, and the writing was on the wall, and somehow Coach (Billy) Napier and the staff and the leaders on the team ignored the noise and went out and played their best football at the end of the season. I think there's something there right now."

On Florida's schedule, Meyer listed six games as clear wins for the Gators: its first two games of the year against Long Island (Aug. 30) and USF (Sept. 6), its homecoming matchup against Mississippi State (Oct. 18), a road matchup at Kentucky (Nov. 8), its SEC regular season finale at home against Tennessee (Nov. 22) and its regular season finale at home against Florida State (Nov. 29).

Wins over Long Island and USF would give the Gators its first 2-0 start since 2021, a road win at Kentucky would be Florida's first in Lexington since 2019 and wins over both Tennessee and Florida State would be the first time it's happened in the same season since 2021.

Additionally, Meyer listed four games that are tossups for the Gators: its road matchup at Miami (Sept. 20), its home matchup against Texas (Oct. 4), a road matchup at Texas A&M (Oct. 11) and a road matchup at Ole Miss (Nov. 15).

Meyer specifically noted the Texas game being a home matchup as the reason why Florida has a strong chance to beat the Longhorns.

Finally, he listed two games as outright losses: its SEC opener at LSU on Sept. 13 and its yearly neutral site matchup against Georgia on Nov. 1.

Florida hasn't beat LSU in Death Valley since 2017 and hasn't beaten Georgia since 2020.

With Meyer's organization of the schedule, Florida could be anywhere from 6-6 to 10-2 in 2025 in his eyes, with eight wins being the most likely.

Despite some expectations for Florida to compete for a playoff spot as a dark-horse contender next season, Meyer doesn't believe the expectations are truly as high as many outsiders think or as high as they were when he first took over the program in 2005.

"I think it's different. I think the expectations are relative. The expectations are current. It changes," he said. "There was a time where Miami (Fla.) was anything other than a national title was a failure, and now that's not the case at all. So, expectations are all relative to the current time period. I think they might get back there someday. When I got there, absolutely. I felt Steve Spurrier every day. Every day of my career. And, I'm friends with (Spurrier), and he knows. I told him that I felt that visor every frickin' day.

"I wasn't Coach Spurrier. We did things differently than him, but the expectations were SEC championships, and that's a hard-a** conference, man. So, I think it's a much different animal than it is in 2025 than it was in 2005."

Not to mention, the 2025 Gators will have the benefit of a 12-team playoff rather than a two-team BCS National Championship Game. Winning a conference championship is no longer necessary to win a national championship, even if it's just as difficult to do so as it was when Meyer was coaching.

Still, Meyer doesn't believe the expectations for Florida are as high as winning an SEC championship, which would be the program's first since he led the Gators to the 2008 title.

"I don't think it's SEC title at all. I know it's not. You never hear that," he said. "First of all, '08 is the last time they won it. You know, they gotta get back there, obviously. You're talking about one of the best jobs out there, but certainly not the same expectations when you follow a guy like Spurrier."

While Florida being a title-contender is not the expectation for this season in Meyer's eyes, he gave a simple solution for the Gators to truly "get back" as a consistent name in a national championship race, and it starts with Napier and star sophomore quarterback DJ Lagway.

"W's. Be on the left-hand side of the column and find a way to lift some hardware. You find a way to do that, and you're back," he said. "I like their coach, and I like their quarterback. That's a good way to start."

Florida opens the 2025 season against Long Island on Aug. 30 at 7 p.m.

More From Florida Gators on SI


This article first appeared on Florida Gators on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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