College Football Analyst claims Florida on "Better Trajectory" ahead of next season

The Florida Gators had a disappointing season (8-5) by most standards set for them in the offseason. Although they were not viewed as SEC title contenders, they were expected to be far more competitive than they were. The season started awfully, with the team losing five of its first nine games. Part of the issue was an injury to starting quarterback Graham Mertz early in the season.

However, the team was able to turn things around at the end of the season with the emergence of quarterback DJ Lagway. They won their final four games of the season, including a win over No. 14-ranked Ole Miss that kept them out of the college football playoff. They finished their season with a 33-8 win over Tulane in the Gasparilla Bowl.

Heading into next season, there are many in the college football world that are buying into the Gators as a more competitive team. On Wednesday, the 'Andy and Ari Show' released an episode where the two hosts talked about the Gators. Andy Staples talked about the Gators being on a better trajectory than in previous years. He even included them on his list of the top 25 teams heading into next season.

"I do think Florida is on a better trajectory than Miami because I watched the end of last season," Andy said. "We were at the Florida-Miami game like Miami was clearly better than Florida in that in that game, and if Florida's offensive and defensive lines had played the way they did against Miami and Texas A&M for the rest of the season, Florida wouldn't be on this list."

"But the difference is Florida's offensive and defensive lines were mauling LSU and Ole Miss at the end of the season, and DJ Lagway is DJ Lagway."

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Andy Staples compares Florida to Miami next season

Andy Staples then went on to compare the Gators to Miami, which could take a step back next season because of its roster changes.

"Meanwhile, Miami doesn't have Cam Ward anymore, doesn't have Xavier Restrepo anymore, doesn't have to Jacolby George anymore, and has Carson Beck coming off elbow surgery. So if you want to compare those two things, yeah, Florida definitely seems like it's on a better trajectory.

Andy and Ari were both high on the Gators, heading into the next season. They have them ranked as the 9th best team in the nation, ahead of teams like Miami, Tennessee, and Alabama.