Florida great Chris Doering predicts Gators will beat 2 top-5 teams in 2025
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A year ago at this time, if you’d have claimed that Billy Napier would still be the Florida Gators’ football coach in 2025, you’d have been called a mad man. Sometimes, things change quicker than one could ever imagine.
Against all odds, Napier has things headed in Gainesville headed in the right direction. And one of the program’s former stars, Chris Doering, believes the Gators will take another massive step forward this season. During an interview Sunday with Gators Online, Doering said he believes Florida will defeat two teams currently ranked in the top 5 of the AP poll: No. 1 Texas and No. 5 Georgia.
“I’ve been on record as saying, I think this is an 8-4 team this year. It’s a challenging schedule. And I’ve made a couple of predictions on shows throughout the offseason, but I honestly believe Florida wins against Texas at home,” Doering said. “And I think they actually beat Georgia this year. I mean, Florida was close last year (against Georgia), even without DJ Lagway in the second half of that game. It was a tie ball game in the fourth quarter.”
Doering added that there’s a chance the Gators go 9-3 in regular-season play. And if they do, he thinks they’re destined for the College Football Playoff.
“I think they’d probably lose to LSU in Baton Rouge. I think they’d probably lose to Texas A&M in College Station. But Florida’s had a lot of success against Tennessee at home,” Doering continued. “I try to find those other two losses and it’s difficult. So maybe they end up being a 9-3 team. If they’re a 9-3 team with this schedule, I have no doubt that they’re a College Football Playoff team.”
Doering may be a Gator at heart, but he’s not the only person on their hype train. Greg McElroy is already on record saying they could be “special,” and Josh Pate actually had them going 9-3 in his SEC record predictions.
It won’t take long to find out if the Florida love is justified. Following matchups with Long Island and South Florida, Napier and Co. will face No. 9 LSU and No. 10 Miami on the road. Then, following a bye, they’ll host Arch Manning and the Longhorns. The Gators will open against Long Island at 7:00 p.m. E.T. on Aug. 30.
