It’s no secret that the Gators are going to look a lot different in 2021. With Kyle Trask moving on to the NFL, the more mobile, option-capable Emory Jones takes his place, and a defense that held the team back in what was otherwise coach Dan Mullen‘s best season will attempt to retool.
Though other conference teams, like defending national champion Alabama, face the same issues (albeit, to a much lesser degree), others, like Georgia, seem to be poised for a lot more continuity this season.
With that in mind, UF doesn’t have the best betting odds to win the SEC Championship this year, per William Hill Sportsbook. The Gators are +1200 to take home the hardware, tied with LSU for the fourth-best odds behind the Crimson Tide (-125), the Bulldogs (+250) and Texas A&M (+900).
<p>It’s clear that even among these top teams, UA and UGA are the clear favorites in the league. Florida faced all four teams with comparable or greater odds during the 2020 season, posting just a 1-3 record against them (with the lone win coming against Georgia in Jacksonville).</p> <p>Despite having the second-best odds, the Bulldogs were picked by CBS Sports to be the best bet in the SEC. Florida fans won’t want to hear that, but they’ll want to hear CBS’ “worst wager” even less.</p> <blockquote><p>Worst wager — Florida (+1200): The defending SEC East champs are picked to be Georgia’s biggest threat, but a bet on the Gators will be more of a long shot than a responsible investment. Florida has to break in new quarterback <a href="https://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/players/playerpage/2967045/emory-jones">Emory Jones</a>, it has an average offensive line and rushing attack, and its defense — at last check — is still coordinated by the much-maligned Todd Grantham. What’s more, Dan Mullen’s crew gets Alabama as its rotating SEC West opponent and has to go to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to take on LSU in its permanent cross-division rivalry game. The Gators are much closer to being third in the East this season than they are to being first.</p></blockquote> <p>After UF and the Tigers, there’s a pretty steep drop-off, with Auburn next up at +2000 odds. So Vegas seems pretty confident that the Gators will be among the conference’s upper echelon next season, but also that several other teams pose a greater threat in the conference race.</p> <p>You can see the full list of odds for SEC squads below.</p> <table><tbody><tr><td>Alabama</td> <td>-125</td> </tr><tr><td>Georgia</td> <td>+250</td> </tr><tr><td>Texas A&M</td> <td>+900</td> </tr><tr><td>Florida</td> <td>+1200</td> </tr><tr><td>LSU</td> <td>+1200</td> </tr><tr><td><a href="https://auburnwire.usatoday.com/">Auburn</a></td> <td>+2000</td> </tr><tr><td>Ole Miss</td> <td>+2500</td> </tr><tr><td>Missouri</td> <td>+3000</td> </tr><tr><td>Kentucky</td> <td>+6000</td> </tr><tr><td><a href="https://volswire.usatoday.com/">Tennessee</a></td> <td>+6000</td> </tr><tr><td>Mississippi State</td> <td>+10000</td> </tr><tr><td>South Carolina</td> <td>+15000</td> </tr><tr><td>Arkansas</td> <td>+20000</td> </tr><tr><td>Vanderbilt</td> <td>+50000</td> </tr></tbody></table> <a href="https://gatorswire.usatoday.com/lists/sec-quarterback-rankings-2021-pat-dooleys-book-of-lists/"> <h2>Pat Dooley’s Book of Lists – Volume 14: Ranking the SEC starting quarterbacks (maybe)</h2> <img width="1000" height="571" src="https://gatorswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2021/02/PatDooleys_BookofLists4.png?w=100&h=57" alt="Pat Dooley Florida Gators" /><img width="1000" height="571" src="https://gatorswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2021/02/PatDooleys_BookofLists4.png 1100w, https://gatorswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2021/02/PatDooleys_BookofLists4.png?resize=300,171 300w, https://gatorswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2021/02/PatDooleys_BookofLists4.png?resize=768,438 768w, https://gatorswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2021/02/PatDooleys_BookofLists4.png?resize=1024,585 1024w, https://gatorswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2021/02/PatDooleys_BookofLists4.png?resize=480,274 480w" alt="Pat Dooley Florida Gators" /> View 14 items </a> <p>
