
Written by Jason King, Managing Editor – UCF Football The next step in the University of Florida Football program will come next week when the football team begins training camp in Gainesville.
Head Coach Billy Donovan has confirmed that the Gators will play a full preseason slate of football games during their 2017 season.
The preseason schedule will include two home games against Texas A&M, one at Florida Atlantic, one against the Georgia Bulldogs, and two away games against Notre Dame and North Carolina.
The first three games will be played at home.
The Gators also will begin a search for a head coach for the 2018 season.
This will be a challenging and long process as the head coach must be selected within the first two days of the 2018 preseason.
The process for this search will be similar to the search for the head football coach for this year.
The hiring of a new head football program coordinator and assistant head coach is still being finalized.
In addition to the two preseason games, the Gators also are expected to play the SEC Network and a home game against Vanderbilt.
The SEC Network game will be broadcast live on SEC Network.
The full schedule of games will also include the 2017 ACC Football Championship game between Virginia and Florida State, the first College Football Playoff semifinal between Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech, and the 2017 Big Ten Championship game.
The 2018 football schedule is expected to include home games at Vanderbilt, Florida, Notre Dame, North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Georgia Tech and Florida.
In 2017, the team posted a 4-5 record with just three wins coming in the ACC Championship game, the Orange Bowl and the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game.
The team’s lone victory came at the hands of Florida State in the Sugar Bowl.
The win over the Seminoles came at a time when the program was facing some adversity in the wake of the devastating Hurricane Matthew.