SEC football: Questions every championship contender needs to answer in 2020

Florida Gators

Florida has been on the cusp of an SEC Eastern Division Championship in each of the last two seasons, but the Gators haven’t been good enough on either side of the ball to beat the Georgia Bulldogs. Gators fans believe they have their quarterback and a defense that can stop anybody on their path to the College Football Playoffs.

Is Kyle Trask a one-year-wonder, and what about the new starters on offense?

Yes, the Gators have two questions to answer because they’re much harder to figure out. For starters, is Trask really the quarterback to lead the Gators back to Atlanta? He’s coming off a solid season where he passed for 2,900 yards with 25 touchdowns in just 11 games as a starter. Can he bring that play into 2020?

Well, he’ll have to prove that without a lot of the skill players he relied on in 2019. Five of his eight leading targets from last year are gone, including running back Lamical Perine. Van Jefferson, Freddie Swain, Tyrie Cleveland, Josh Hammond and Perine combined for 2,133 receiving yards. Returning receivers Trevon Grimes and Jacob Copeland had pretty good stats, but can they excel as starters without Jefferson and Swain demanding attention?

What about Florida’s running game that was already mediocre? The Gators lost Perine, their leading rusher, and he only had 676 yards last season. Is there any way Florida can field a reliable running game in 2020?