Florida Gators Football Schedule Ranked Second Easiest in SEC by ESPN FPI

The Florida Gators will enter the year with having one of the easiest schedules, according to an ESPN power index.

According to ESPN's Football Power Index (FPI), the Florida Gators have the second-easiest schedule in the SEC heading into this season. Their schedule is ranked 41st easiest nationally, according to the same index.

The Gators are heading into their most important season under head coach Dan Mullen. After securing double-digit wins in each of the past two seasons, including a New Years Six Bowl appearance last year in the Orange Bowl against Virginia, the Gators will have a lot of pressure to make it to the next step, including defeating their most-hated rival, the Georgia Bulldogs.

ESPN's updated FPI comes just a month after the sports giant ranked the Gators as the 12th-best team in the nation, according to their formulas. AllGators broke down the rankings in May. Given their ranking nationally combined with their strength of schedule, it shouldn't be out of line to suggest the Gators should be even better in 2020 than they have been over the past two seasons.

Behind Florida in the SEC strength of schedule rankings are the Missouri Tigers who are ranked 55th in FPI and have the 54th toughest schedule in the nation.

According to the FPI, the Gators held the 17th toughest strength of schedule nationally in 2019 to go along with their ninth-overall FPI ranking. They ranked third in the strength of schedule in the SEC. It is easy to see why the Gators have received praise over the past several months for how they may perform next season as they've continuously defied odds in 2018 and '19.

The schedule for 2020 is as follows, with home games in bold:

• Sep. 5, 2020: Eastern Washington @ Florida
• Sep. 12, 2020: Kentucky @ Florida (SEC)
• Sep. 19, 2020: South Alabama @ Florida
• Sep. 26, 2020: Florida @ Tennessee (SEC)
• Oct. 3, 2020: South Carolina @ Florida (SEC)
• Oct. 10, 2020: Louisiana State @ Florida (SEC)
• Oct. 17, 2020: Florida @ Ole Miss (SEC)
• Oct. 24, 2020: BYE
• Oct. 31, 2020: Georgia vs. Florida (SEC - in Jacksonville, FL)
• Nov. 7, 2020: Florida @ Vanderbilt (SEC)
• Nov. 14, 2020: Missouri @ Florida (SEC)
• Nov. 21, 2020: New Mexico State @ Florida
• Nov. 28, 2020: Florida @ Florida State

On the surface, the Gators' schedule does appear easy, especially when factoring in the number of 2019-ranked teams Florida will play. The ranked opponents include only LSU and Georgia. The only time the Gators will leave the state will be against Tennessee, Ole Miss, and Vanderbilt, providing them with very few real "road" games this season.

While the Gators do play four out-of-conference opponents, their toughest opponent, the Florida State Seminoles, has not necessarily been the beacon of success over the past few seasons, and with a new head coach in Mike Norvell this year, it is reasonable to expect some slumps, even late in the season.

The Gators will need to take advantage of the schedule they've received this year. There is no reason to believe they'll lose more than two games on the year, especially considering their opponents. While their success will absolutely be based on the play of players such as quarterback Kyle Trask and the leadership provided by Mullen, they'll still need to prove above and beyond they deserve to be ranked highly, even considering the schedule they faced.

Time will tell whether or not the team will take advantage of the schedule they have received, but if the last two years are of any indication, they should fare just fine.