Steve Spurrier predicts 7-5 record for Florida in 2023

As Florida heads into Year 2 under coach Billy Napier the Gators will certainly be looking for more positive results. Despite having a top-five NFL Draft pick at quarterback last season, the program finished just 6-7.

But at least one man Gators fans are quite familiar with sees a better result for Florida in 2023.

“I just threw out a 7-5 as probably a very in the middle of the pick type thing,” former coach Steve Spurrier said in an interview with Inside The Gators. “It could go both ways. Heck, we all know. It could go both ways. Who would have ever thought we’d lose to Vanderbilt last year? And after the big win over South Carolina we lost two in a row and then the whole team bailed out before the bowl game, which is discouraging.”

Spurrier’s 7-5 pick would be a solid result in and of itself. If it swung to positive side of that, the Gators would really be cooking.

This offseason the oddsmakers in Las Vegas installed the over/under win total for the program at just 5.5 games. That’s a regular season tally only.

However, Spurrier seemed fairly upset that the team’s players didn’t take last year’s bowl game a little more seriously with the chance to finish with a winning record. Florida lost to Oregon State 30-3.

“Maybe we’ll have different players that feel accountable to want to finish the season this year when we get to a bowl game, hopefully if we get one,” he said.

What is success for Florida in 2023?

When asked directly what would qualify as success for Florida in 2023, Napier himself didn’t underline a certain win total. Instead, he’s looking at things more holistically.

“There’s a number of things that affect result, right?” Napier said. “And we all want to talk about results and what results matter, but ultimately for us goes back to what I just said. We plan our work each day, we work our plan, we get consumed with the details that we know will affect the result and ultimately we’re in the middle of that process.

“This is evaluation, it’s recruitment, it’s development, it’s building a team, it’s leadership, it’s accountability, it’s fundamentals and techniques, it’s communication, it’s how we practice. All, I mean I could go on and on about all the things that affect whether we win or lose, but ultimately I think you’ve got to get consumed with each day and what that entails. That’s what we’re in the middle of doing.”

In other words, Year 2 is about continuing to establish the base of the foundation for the program that Napier is building.

Florida will open its season on Thursday on the road at two-time defending Pac-12 champion Utah.