Gators Football Schedule Released
GAINESVILLE (CBS4) - First-year University of Florida Gators head football coach Will Muschamp has to like what he sees on his schedule in 2011. The Gators open up with a fairly easy schedule until October 1.
The Gators take on Florida Atlantic and UAB in back-to-back weeks starting September 3. After that, the one-time rivalry game against Tennessee Volunteers is set for September 17.
After that game, UF goes on the road for the first time to take on the Kentucky Wildcats. The trip to Kentucky will be Florida's first game against a 2010 bowl-eligible team.
Then, the meat of the schedule arrives.
On October 1, the Florida Gators welcome in the Alabama Crimson Tide to "The Swamp." Alabama is coming off a solid season in which they finished at number 10 in the nation.
The last time the Tide took the field in the state of Florida, they absolutely demolished the Michigan State Spartans in the Capital One Bowl.
The Gators then run the gauntlet of Tiger teams in the SEC. Florida has to battle LSU in Baton Rouge and then travel to Auburn for a showdown on the plains.
Auburn will not be the same team it was when it won the National Championship last season, but LSU has the potential to be a top team in the SEC in 2011.
UF then comes to Jacksonville for the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party and a date against the Georgia Bulldogs. Luckily for Gator Fans, they'll be coming off a bye week before the Georgia agme.
The Gators then get the obligatory Vanderbilt win the week of November 5th and turn their focus to a road trip to Columbia, South Carolina and a November 12 game against the Gamecocks and their head coach, Steve Spurrier.
The former Gators coach got the better of the Gators last season as the team was collapsing down the stretch. It's safe to say, the Gators are looking for payback. But, the Gamecocks will be breaking in a new quarterback, which to a defensive coordinator like Muschamp, means lunch is served.
The obligatory easy game against Furman sets the stage for the battle of the two best teams in the state of Florida, the Gators and the Florida State Seminoles.
The 'Noles took the Gators behind the woodshed last year and given the amount of talent returning for the 'Noles on both sides of the ball, it's going to be a challenge for the Gators to stay on the field.
Plus, with FSU holding a slight recruiting edge, the game will be the deciding factor to get the top talent in the state.
