Paul Finebaum calls projections for Florida in 2024 'off base'

Paul Finebaum isn’t a fan of the Florida Gators’ projections in 2024, calling them “off base.” The ESPN analyst thinks the Gators might be a little better than expected.

Sure, there is a lot of unrest in the Gators’ fanbase due to head coach Billy Napier not reaching the immense expectations yet. But Finebaum preached patience is a virtue.

It’s just a matter of starting to get over that hump for Florida.

“Well, I think they are off base because there’s an assumption that it’s over,” Finebaum said on McElroy and Cubelic. “And then there’s the reality and you keep hearing from people down there, that they have talent and I think you know that it’s not automatic, just because it’s Florida. But I had this conversation with Graham Mertz a couple of weeks ago. And I mean, he was just effusive about what was happening inside that building and that’s the one thing I don’t know. Even with Billy Napier, some of the losses have been razor thin.” 

Talk about getting over a hump and getting a monkey off Florida’s back. Close losses have been the name of the game for the Gators under Napier.

“I think to his credit they’ve been close,” Finebaum said. “Now why they can’t hold on, I don’t know … They have to win those games to me. I’m not overly concerned about the toughest teams on their schedule. They just have to survive the early games. The Kentucky game, I mean last year they beat Tennessee. This year, I think if they were to be Tennessee in Knoxville then I think everything changes but that’s not something I think they can do. 

“That schedule, though. Miami, UCF, I mean, there’s just some tricky games there that they cannot afford to lose any of them because at the end of the schedule, the last five weeks are so difficult.”

On3’s Andy Staples recently made an appearance on Finebaum’s show. There, he shared some thoughts on those Gators and explained why winning games is going to be how to quiet critics of the job he’s done.

“You got to win games, right? Six and six, and then 5-7,” Staples said. “You have to win games. There’s absolutely no speech you can give, no question you can answer, nothing you can do that will change anybody’s mind other than winning more games than everybody thinks you should. That is the only thing he can do. Everything else is just rearranging deck chairs.”