No disrespect to the Saints, but the Gators are facing quality opponents a little bit earlier this year.
A year ago, UF scheduled a three-game series with Siena to kick off the new season. The Gators swept the Saints right out of Gainesville after scoring 27 runs against the overmatched Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference squad.
Today, UF welcomes to town the unanimous selection to finish first in the Big East, and No. 23 Louisville is likely to put up slightly more resistance.
"The best way to describe them is they're a complete club," UF coach Kevin O'Sullivan said.
Junior Justin Marks, the 2009 Preseason Big East Pitcher of the Year, brings his 18-4 career record and 2.53 ERA to the bump on Friday to match up with UF's Patrick Keating.
Keating, who emerged as the Gators' ace last season, paid the Cardinals a bit of a backhanded compliment before practice on Thursday.
"They're a good team. They're all over the polls," he said. "I would say they're almost like an SEC team."
The senior hurler meant no disrespect to Louisville, but it was clear he thinks tough competition is nothing new for Keating or UF.
Cardinals junior third baseman Chris Dominguez is one of the hitters Keating and the rest of the pitching staff have paid a lot of attention to on film.
Louisville's slugger hit .365 with 21 home runs and 75 RBIs last season.
UF freshman Nick Maronde, who is scheduled to start in Game 3 on Sunday, said that part of the reason he chose to be a Gator is because the coaching staff encourages its pitchers to attack hitters, which will be the game plan against a tough lineup this weekend.
"(O'Sullivan) has a very aggressive stance on pitching," the left-hander said. "He wants to go after hitters and not pitch around them, and that's how I've always pitched and that was a major selling point for me."
Alex Panteliodis, another freshman lefty, will start Game 2 for UF on Saturday.
This is O'Sullivan's second year as the coach of the Gators, and his new freshman class has created a lot of hype without ever playing a single inning in orange and blue.
However, O'Sullivan said it's the experienced players who will give UF its best chance to win against Louisville and for the rest of the season.
"A lot of hype is made about the new guys, but it's the older guys who need to be talked about," he said. "Brandon McArthur and Avery Barnes coming back for another season is huge. Those guys are like five-star recruits in my mind."
McArthur and Barnes are both seniors coming off productive seasons for the Gators. McArthur, who will start at first base, hit .337 and drove in 44 runs while Barnes, who will start in left field, led the team with a .360 average, a .434 on-base percentage and 26 stolen bases.
Junior Matt den Dekker was named a Preseason All-America by Baseball America and will make his first opening-day start as a Gator in center field.
