I think people are sleeping on Florida's talent level a bit and their D still has the potential to be the best in the East. Collins runs the exact same multiple 3-4 defense that Muschamp ran and they are returning what is probably the best secondary in the SEC. Front 7 lost a big playmaker in Fowler, but they still have a stout LB core and a solid DL.
Their roster is still chalked full of 4 and 5 star players on both sides of the ball. If McIlwain can get any kind of offense going, I think they could challenge for 3rd place in the East.
Having said that, they are likely going to struggle mightly with a very young OL to start the year. They will probably have a true freshman(Ivey) at LT and a D-1AA transfer starting beside a lot of question marks. Hopefully they will still be a mess when we go to Gainesville and Barnett will break Grier in half.
McIlwain certainly inhereted a much better situation than Butch when he took over.
This is one thing that bothers me. That the players and fans will underestimate Florida, especially if we beat OU in Neyland. I will not be convinced that we can beat Florida until Butch shows he can do it. At this point he has not shown the ability to do so. I wait patiently.