2006 Florida Gators Football Preview

Welcome to the official MadduxSports.com 2006 Florida Gators NCAA season preview. Like we do each and every season we have inspected and broken down the team, you can also find the 2006 Florida Gators Football Schedule here. If you plan to bet on NCAA football be sure to use expert College football picks from Maddux Sports as well as bookmark our free college football lines page offering up to the minute point spreads for the weekly schedule.

Coach: Urban Meyer (2nd year at Florida)
Team Name: Gators
2005 Overall Record: 8-3
2005 SEC Conference Record 5-3
Returning Starters: 12

Last season the Gators new coach, Urban Meyer, instituted an option offense that taxed QB Chris Leak. Leak, who threw 20 TDS while completing 62.8% of his passes, should have a better understanding of Meyer’s system.

DeShawn Wynn, Markus Manson and Kestahn Moore will be this year’s running attack, which last season was somewhat lethargic. The team’s hoping for more production from the three returning and two new backs. However, giving the backfield an opportunity to excel may be a problem, since the biggest question on this club is the offensive line.

In 2005 Florida’s offense was average, while its defense proved to be first-rate, holding opponents to 18.8 PPG. The great news for the Gators is six starters are back.

On the line, Marcus Thomas needs to now transform great potential into outstanding play. If defensive end Ray McDonald can finally have a healthy season, the defense will be even better than last season.

Brandon Siler (64 tackles) and Earl Everett (74 tackles) are a dynamic linebacking duo. In the secondary, Reggie Nelson should continue to be a standout at SS and the athletic Kyle Jackson has All-American potential at FS.

The Gators should be a top-ten nationally ranked team and the best in the SEC. However, they play LSU, Auburn and Georgia—all tough clubs-- three weeks in a row. That’s where Florida’s season will hang in the balance.

Florida Gators 2006 Schedule

Date	Opponent	Home/Road
Sep 2	Southern Miss	Home
Sep 9	Central Florida	Home
Sep 16	Tennessee	Road
Sep 23	Kentucky	Home
Sep 30	Alabama	Home
Oct 7	LSU	Home
Oct 14	Auburn	Road
Oct 28	Georgia	Home
Nov 4	Vanderbilt	Road
Nov 11	South Carolina	Home
Nov 18	W. Carolina	Home
Nov 25	Florida State	Road

 

For more data on the 2006 Florida football program, view the Gators team website or scroll down below to read up on the rest of the SEC competition.