2008 Florida Gators College Football Predictions Courtesy of Alex Smart, An Expert College Football Handicapper featured on Touthouse.com. If you are betting college football this year, be sure to buy Alex’s college football picks each week and guarantee a win!!

Florida Gators (9-4, 5-3 in 2007, 3rd place in SEC East)
Gator-nation had to be disappointed with Florida’s 9-4 campaign and a loss in the Capital One Bowl in 2007. QB Tim Tebow became the first sophomore to win the Heisman Trophy last season, but he also feels as though the Gators have unfinished business coming into the 2008 season. Florida had plenty of things to be proud about in 2007, including embarrassing both Tennessee and Florida State by a combined score of 104-32, but the four losses are placed squarely on the shoulders of a defense that allowed both Georgia and Michigan to put up 40+ points on the scoreboard. Sixteen Gators return from last season, and anything less than another national title will be a disappointment in Gainesville.

Offensive Outlook: Just between Tebow and do-it-all Percy Harvin, the Gators have one of the most explosive offenses in the nation. Add on a rushing game that includes Emmanuel Moody and Keastahn Moore, plus one of the biggest offensive lines in the country, and HC Urban Meyer has the perfect recipe for not only one of the best offenses in the land in 2008, but one of the better offenses that college football has seen in recent memory. If there’s a dark cloud looming over Gainesville, it’s that TE Cornelius Ingram is out for the season with an ACL tear. For an offense that averaged 42.5 PPG a year ago, it’s scary to think that the Gators could post even bigger numbers in ’08.

Defensive Outlook: This will be the key to whether the Gators are going to win the SEC East or not. The defense had way too many lapses last season, frequently putting the offense in holes that were difficult to work out of. Last year the unit only returned two starters, but this year, eight will be back. Florida is young in their secondary rotation, with two sophomores and a number of juniors, but they are incredibly deep with talent, and most of the players have gained some level of experience from previous seasons. The defensive line won’t be the same without DE Derrick Harvey, but both Carlos Dunlap and Jermaine Cunningham should be able to fill in his production.

2008 Preview: Meyer has to have his sights set on four games that could spoil his undefeated season in 2008. Games at Tennessee and Florida State are always difficult, but there is no doubt that the Gators will be the better team on the field in both instances barring a rash of injuries. On October 11th, LSU comes to the Swamp for what should be a fantastic game, but if Florida gets past that, all eyes will be on the Cocktail Party in Jacksonville between the Gators and Georgia Bulldogs. There is a very legitimate chance that these two teams could be undefeated and ranked #1 and #2 in the country at that point in time.

2008 will be a success if… the defense doesn’t have any significant lapses. Though the Gators offense is phenomenal, the question marks are all on the defensive side of the ball. The Georgia running game blasted the Gators last year, and if the unit has too many games like that, Florida will be making another trip to the “lowly” Capital One Bowl this winter.

The Gators are for real this year, and though an undefeated season wouldn’t be overly shocking, don’t expect to see too many “L’s” on the schedule at seasons end.

Prediction: 11-1, 1st place in SEC East

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