Florida football officially opens up its 2025 campaign on Saturday inside Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, where it will host the Long Island Sharks in Week 1 of the nascent season.
For the first time in four years, the Gators will be facing a significantly inferior opponent — with all due respect to the Sharks’ program — to start the season. In 2022 and 2023, the Orange and Blue played a home-and-home series against the highly-ranked Utah Utes and followed that up last fall with a home game against the Miami Hurricanes. Florida went just 1-2 in those matchups.
The return of the “cupcake” game opener is a welcome event for Billy Napier and Co., who once again face the toughest schedule among FBS programs entering the season. Hopefully, the game will be mostly uneventful and injury-free, allowing the team to coalesce early on before the gauntlet begins.
So how will Game 1 go down? The Gators Wire crew assembled ahead of the opening kickoff to provide their expert predictions on what will transpire in the Swamp this Saturday. Here is what we had to offer.
‘Maybe just under the 50 burger?’
Lagway broke last year with a record-setting game against an FCS program early in the year, so why not run it back?
Well… injuries are a good one. If Florida can score enough to sit Lagway for the second half, they should. It’s a long season, and it’s better to save the hits for when they matter more. With that in mind, I can see Lagway throwing for 200 yards and three touchdowns in the first half and calling it a day.
Jadan Baugh and Ja’Kobi can run up their numbers in the second half, and some reserves should get in by the end of the game. The defense shouldn’t struggle either, but shutting a team out is still very hard.
Maybe just under the 50 burger? — David Rosenberg
PREDICTION: Florida 48, LIU 10
‘This one should be over by halftime’
Well, college football is officially back and so are the Florida Gators. New year. Clean slate. A chance to prove the doubters wrong. Florida shouldn’t have much trouble in its opener against Long Island, and this game is about shaking off the rust and building confidence.
Expect DJ Lagway to settle in early and the Gators’ defense to overwhelm an overmatched Sharks offense. The key will be getting the starters comfortable before handing things over to the backups, giving young playmakers valuable snaps under the lights in the Swamp.
Long Island simply doesn’t have the depth to keep pace with an SEC roster, and Florida’s speed on both sides of the ball should create plenty of highlight moments for the home crowd. This one should be over by halftime. — Aidan Gallardo
PREDICTION: Florida 55, LIU 7
‘I expect a solid win but the backups will see a majority of playing time’
As much as I have historically loathed the season-openers against super-soft opponents, it is admittedly a breath of fresh air this year given the brutal road ahead for the Gators. While it should present an excellent opportunity for the team to get synchronized, it also lacks the drama and excitement that those Utah and Miami matchups brought.
We will get to Miami eventually, anyway. But first things first.
With Lagwag still dealing with lingering injury concerns and the desire to keep the starters as fresh and injury-free as possible, I cannot see the first team playing for more than the first 20 minutes. However, Florida can accomplish a lot in those first two quarters before we get a taste of the Harrison Bailey experience — and maybe even a look at Trammell Jones Jr. if we are lucky.
After that, it will be a test of how deep this Gators roster really goes. While I have confidence in this year’s depth chart, I do not see the backups running the score up like the starters would. So I predict a win, but not by quite as large a score as my colleagues suggested. — Adam Dubbin
PREDICTION: Florida 42, LIU 10
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This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Florida football predictions: Gators vs Long Island Sharks in Week 1
