Florida Football 2012: One Good Reason Why the Gators Can Beat Every Opponent

Head coach Will Muschamp knows as well as anyone that Gator Nation will not tolerate too many 7-6 seasons. He and the coaching staff have already started the process of turning the football program around.

The Gators had the third-ranked recruiting class according to Rivals, and more importantly, are recruiting the type of players that fit the offensive and defensive schemes the team wants to run. Much of last year, the Gators were hampered in their ability to run the type of offense they wanted due to being undersized along the offensive line and in the backfield. 

With Florida already making strides in recruiting, returning 10 of 11 starters on defense and gaining familiarity with each other and a new coaching staff, the Gators are poised to improve upon a disappointing 2011 season. 

This article is not a prediction that the Gators will go 12-0, waltz into Atlanta with ease and then play for a national championship. It is simply stating one reason or one aspect of each matchup where the Gators have an advantage that could play a factor into them winning the game. 

With that in mind, let's take a look at one good reason the Gators can beat every opponent this season.

Bowling Green

Date: Saturday, Sept. 1

Advantage: Just show up 

Without getting too specific in how the Gators will beat the Falcons of Bowling Green, the Gators simply need to show up and play to their capabilities. 

Florida will be paying Bowling Green a cool $1.25 million to be the season opener, and a school like Florida does not pay that kind of money to get embarrassed at home. 

This game will serve as a good warmup for whichever sophomore quarterback wins the starting position before SEC play begins in Week 2.

At Texas A&M

Date: Saturday, Sept. 8

Advantage: Texas A&M is going through similar changes to what Florida went through a season ago. 

The Gators will have an advantage when they hit the road and welcome the Aggies to the SEC. Playing at Kyle Field and dealing with the 12th man is no joke, but the Gators are used to playing in front of 100,000 hostile fans at Tennessee and Alabama. 

Texas A&M is facing a very similar situation in 2012 as the Gators did in 2011. The Aggies have a new head coach and coaching staff and will lose their star quarterback, Ryan Tannehill. 2012 will be a season of change and growing pains for the Aggies, much like last season was for Will Muschamp and Florida. 

The Gators' advantage in this game is that they have a one-year head start on the process that A&M is going through this season. 

At Tennessee

Date: Saturday, Sept. 15

Advantage: Psychological advantage riding a seven-game winning streak. 

The Gators played Tennessee closer than they should have in 2011, especially with the Vols top receiver, Justin Hunter, going down with an injury in the first quarter. Like Florida, Tennessee is returning a young nucleus of players, and this annual rivalry is expected to be a close game. 

Tennessee is a mess right now, coming off of a 5-7 season in which they did not qualify for a bowl game. The Gators will be playing their second straight conference road game, but should be able to move their winning streak against the Vols to eight straight wins. 

Unfortunately for the longtime rivalry, due to SEC scheduling changes, the game may not be shown on CBS for the first time since 1996. 

Kentucky

Date: Saturday, Sept. 22

Advantage: Kentucky will be overmatched in the longest uninterrupted winning streak over an opponent in the nation. 

The Gators currently have won 25 straight games against the Wildcats. The longest active streak is Penn State over Temple (29 games), but that streak spans 60 years. The Gators have played Kentucky and come out victorious in every season since 1985. 

Florida has been so dominant over Kentucky that the Wildcats made the Gators look amazing last season, giving up 405 rushing yards. 

The Gators will be improved along the offensive line, and their defense should be hitting their stride by the time Kentucky comes to visit Gainesville. 

This game should not be close, and the Gators' streak will continue. 

LSU

Date: Saturday, Oct. 6

Advantage: Home-field advantage and a sour taste after losing two in a row. 

The Gators have lost two straight games to the Tigers, including being blown out in Baton Rouge last season. 

The differences between the matchup this season and last season are many.

The game will be played in the Swamp this season, where the Gators will enjoy a friendly, and likely sell-out, crowd.

Also, Jacoby Brissett was thrown into the starting role last season and was forced to make his first career start at LSU. Either Brissett or Driskel will already have four games under their belt and will benefit from playing at home. 

The Gators defense will be looking for revenge after they were torched last season for 453 total yards, the most the Gators defense gave up all season. That included giving up a season-high 238 rushing yards. 

The Gators return 10 of 11 starters from the eighth-ranked defense from a year ago. LSU does not have the same firepower returning on offense this year, and the Gators could turn this game into a knock-down, drag-out defensive battle. 

At Vanderbilt

Date: Saturday, Oct. 13

Advantage: Vandy will be overmatched by a more physical and dominant Florida defense. 

Vandy gave the Gators a fight last season, with the outcome remaining in the balance until Jordan Reed recovered an onside kick late in the fourth quarter. 

Jordan Rogers picked apart the Gators secondary to the tune of 297 passing yards, the most given up by Florida's secondary all season. The secondary consisted of two freshmen and two sophomores who gained invaluable experience from last season and will be better for going through those growing pains. 

The secondary and coach Travaris Robinson will likely circle this game and make sure they put a better performance together in 2012. 

South Carolina

Date: Saturday, Oct. 20

Advantage: Gators defense will take away the run and force the Gamecocks to throw the ball. 

The Gators dodged a bullet this year by not having to face Marcus Lattimore. Lattimore missed most of the 2011 season with a knee injury. Even without Lattimore, the Gators still gave up 215 rushing yards. Florida has gotten bigger up front this offseason, and with the recruits they have added, Sharrif Floyd will be able to move back to his natural DT position. 

Much like the Gators secondary with Vandy, the Gators front seven will likely circle this game on their schedule and make a point of not letting Lattimore torch them like Connor Shaw did with the option. 

If the Gators can take away or slow down the rushing attack, they did a very good job of shutting down the Gamecocks passing game last year. Minus a 46-yard bomb from Shaw to Ace Sanders, the secondary only allowed 38 passing yards. 

Expect Florida to stack the box, play a lot of man coverage and force South Carolina to throw the football to win the game. 

Georgia (in Jacksonville)

Date: Saturday, Oct. 27

Advantage: The Gators will take advantage of their opportunities, unlike last year, and will cut down on penalties. 

In the 2011 version of the Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party, the Gators couldn't take advantage of some very good opportunities in the first half and were beaten down in the second half, resulting in a 24-20 loss. 

The Gators led the game at half, 17-10, but really could have been up 24-3 going into the half, as a Chris Rainey fumble late led to a Georgia touchdown before halftime. 

The Gators also committed 14 penalties for 101 yards. They are simply just not a good enough team to overcome that kind of undisciplined play; not many teams are. The Gators will be more disciplined going into season two under Muschamp and will not shoot themselves in the foot with penalties. 

Missouri

Date: Saturday, Nov. 3

Advantage: Missouri Tigers' first trip to the Swamp

Adding Missouri to the SEC makes three teamsthat sport a tiger as their mascot. Unfortunately for Mizzou, they are the worst tiger in the SEC. 

While the Gators will not be the first SEC game for Mizzou, they will give them the largest and rowdiest crowd they will see that season (until they go to Tennessee and have 100,000 people singing "Rocky Top" ad nauseum).

The Gators and Gator Nation should show up strong for the first weekend in November and give Mizzou and their fans a rude welcome to the SEC.

UL-Lafayette

Date: Saturday, Nov. 10

Advantage: Florida is paying for another victory here. UL-Lafayette is happy to take the check and a loss. 

The game against UL- Lafayette was originally slated to be played on Sept. 8, but was moved to accommodate the additions of Texas A&M and Missouri into the schedule. 

The change of date will earn the Ragin' Cajuns an extra $50,000 to bring their game day check to a cool million.  

The Gators will overpower the Ragin' Cajuns and move onto another team looking for a pay day. 

Jacksonville State

Date: Saturday, Nov. 17

Advantage: You don't pay a team $500,000 to come into your stadium and beat you. 

The third and final team that will be using Florida for a payday comes in the form of Jacksonville State.

This will mark the second time this season that the Gators will face a team named the Gamecocks, but should have a much easier time with this game. 

The Gators will use this as another week to get healthy if need be and to prepare for their annual rivalry against that school out west. 

At Florida State

Date: Saturday, Nov. 24

Advantage: Florida will get the equivalent of two bye weeks leading up to their game against Florida State.

Will Muschamp failed to beat his friend and new rival, Jimbo Fisher. 

The Gators have lost two games in a row to their hated rival and will have to win on the road if they want to end that streak. 

The Gators held the Seminoles to under 100 yards of total offense in 2011 and still lost the game. The Gators offense, especially John Brantley, put on an embarrassing performance on senior night. A performance that included Brantley throwing three interceptions on the the Gators first five drives. 

Due to the turnovers, the Noles were able to score two touchdowns on the ground with great field position. 

The only bright spot for the Gators offense came after Brantley was knocked out of the game and Jacoby Brissett hit Quinton Dunbar for a 21-yard touchdown pass in garbage time. 

The Gators will get the equivalent of two bye weeks to prepare for Florida State. The luxury of being able to play UL- Lafayette and Jacksonville State the two weeks prior should give Florida an edge in the 2012 edition of the rivalry game.