FiveDimes recently released over/under regular season win totals for college football teams.

Here is an early-season look at the Florida Gators in the SEC.

Over/Under

FiveDimes has Florida at 7.5 wins. Last year, the Gators went 6-5 in the regular season. The line features a more favorable under at -115, while the over is at -125.

The upside

Florida has a new coach and fans are hoping that translates into more wins.

It’s never been about the talent at Florida. In recent years, it’s been all about scoring points, which just hasn’t happened. Last year, the Gators were 93rd in the country in total offense.

Now, Jim McElwain, who has an offensive background, will man the controls at Florida, and he’ll have a quarterback competition between Treon Harris and Will Grier. Offense won’t be the strength, though, with the defense still fielding a top-tier system. A talented secondary and quality front four should bolster the defense to make up for the lack of offensive production.

Battors backing the Gators will rely on an easier schedule to reach eight wins. The first five games feature one road game – at Kentucky – with the rest of the games played in Gainesville, Florida, against New Mexico State, East Carolina, Tennessee and Mississippi. Florida could realistically expect to be favored in at least four, if not all of those games, before a road game against Missouri on Oct. 10.

The downside

A new quarterback. Holes on the offensive line. And a new offensive scheme. The only bright side to all three of those items happening to the offense is that Florida has been far below average on offense for the last few years.

The schedule does allow for the Gators to get acclimated to the new system in the early going, except for that home game against defensive-minded Ole Miss. The defense will be elite again likely, but bettors can’t trust the offense.

And while the schedule isn’t as difficult as what other SEC teams must play, there are still games where the Gators will be underdogs. Florida must travel to LSU and South Carolina, and host Florida State. The Gators also will trek to Jacksonville, Florida, for its annual game against Georgia. Those are four games where the Gators will likely be underdogs.

The verdict

Despite playing the SEC, the Gators do have a manageable schedule, with other games at home against Florida Atlantic and Vanderbilt. There are at least six games where Florida will be favored, and it could be more depending on how the Gators come out of the gate.

Florida should be better this year with a rejuvenated approach. Florida may pull off a few upsets and the schedule doesn’t seem too difficult. Take the over and see if the Gators can compete in the SEC East.

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