2023 SCHEDULE BREAKDOWN: DeLand looks for deep playoff run in 2023 after turnaround in 2022

DELAND BULLDOGS

District: 4S-9

2023 SCHEDULE

* – District Contest

MILEAGE BREAKDOWN

With six road games on the schedule, DeLand will be seeing a lot of time away from the beautiful grounds of Spec Martin Stadium. The shortest road trip for the Bulldogs will be the trip down the road to University in Orange City, just under 10 miles. The trip to Deltona will come in as the second shortest road trip, which is just two-tenths of a mile longer than the trip to University at 10.1 miles. The longest road trip of the season will be to Centennial at South County Stadium in Port St. Lucie, with the one-way trip will be 149 miles. Overall, a lot of miles will be added to the vehicles for fans traveling to the games, along with the miles put on the buses for the Bulldogs.

To Centennial: 149 miles
To Spruce Creek: 22.1 miles
To Deltona: 10.1 miles
To Seminole (Sanford): 27 miles
To University (Orange City): 9.9 miles
To Flagler Palm Coast: 36.5 miles

One-Way: 254.6 miles
Round-Trip: 509.2 miles

STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE

FloridaHSFootball.com has developed a weighted strength of schedule formula that weighs a team’s strength of schedule using data trends from the previous five seasons to measure a team’s overall strength of schedule. This includes all team records for all opponents and other weighted factors given about the teams on a schedule.

If anyone knows anything about head coach Rick Darlington, he looks for his teams to be competitive, including making sure his teams play a competitive schedule. That will be no different here in 2023 as DeLand will have the same schedule from last season but will be stronger with a state runner-up and a state semifinalist gracing the schedule along with three other playoff teams among the schedule as well, plus two teams that finished the 2022 season with winning records, but not reaching the playoffs.

With Class 3S state runner-up Mainland along with Class 3S state semifinalist Columbia on the schedule, this gives the Bulldogs their most significant boost in the weighted strength of schedule calculation. Both of these games will come early in the season, and that will undoubtedly give DeLand a measuring stick of where they are as a team, as their bye week will come in Week 4.

Teams like Centennial, Seminole, and Flagler Palm Coast also dot the schedule, which Seminole and Flagler Palm Coast games being considered rivalries boosting the strength of the schedule as well. These games will help the Bulldogs determine how to reach the playoffs for the second straight season under Coach Darlington’s leadership.

Overall, our weighted strength of schedule formula for DeLand gives them a strength of schedule of .696 coming into the 2023 season. This is thanks to the teams on the schedule we mentioned above, plus having other programs like Deltona and New Smyrna Beach, which did well last season, factoring into the calculation. This type of strength of schedule will test DeLand through and through, preparing them for various opponents should they reach the playoffs come November.

MORE: Find all the links to all the schedule breakdowns published here

KEY DISTRICT GAME

9/29 – Spruce Creek: Despite being an off-type season for Spruce Creek, this will be the key district game for DeLand as the Hawks should bounce back, given the coaching staff and the quality athletes Spruce Creek will has. Also, with this being an away game, the Bulldogs will want to play hard to make a statement that the district will be theirs again in 2023.

KEY NON-DISTRICT GAME

8/25 – Mainland: Not everyone gets to start the season with a team that reached the state championship game in the previous season out of the gate, but DeLand will be one of a handful of teams in the state that will get that opportunity here. This game will measure and tell us a lot about DeLand and its capabilities to compete, as many of the athletes that were a part of the run for Mainland in 2022 will return this season. As such, Bulldog fans will want to pack Spec Martin as a part of this classic rivalry game between two of Volusia County’s best-known programs.

OVERALL THOUGHTS

With DeLand scheduling well last season, the schedule translating to 2023 for the second year of the two-year classification cycle works well for them. With no changes made to the schedule, the Bulldogs will enter the 2023 season with familiarity on the schedule with their list of opponents. Overall, DeLand has the chance to win anywhere from six to potentially ten games this season. That should give fans in the western part of Volusia County some joy that football season will be fantastic for them with the possibility of a deep playoff run accompanying it.