Florida Earns First College Football Playoff Poll Ranking Since 2020
Florida (5-3, 3-3 SEC) has played with a number beside its name for nearly half the season. The Gators now own a new ranking despite their up-and-down season.
Florida is included in the College Football Playoff rankings for the first time since 2020, earning the No. 24 spot in the first returns from the committee. The last time the Gators appeared in the CFP Poll, they were led by Heisman-finalist quarterback Kyle Trask to an 8-4 record and a No. 7 ranking, ending the season in the Cotton Bowl.
Florida is also ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll at No. 25 despite its most recent defeat. The Gators entered their rivalry matchup with Georgia ranked No. 17 in the AP Poll, but suffered the eight-spot drop after their 27-8 loss at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
The Gators’ 19-point loss to the Bulldogs put them into a precarious historic spot for the College Football Playoff. No team with three losses across their 12 regular-season games has ever made the 12-team brackets in the three editions of it starting with 2024. Despite history not being on UF’s side, Florida coach Jon Sumrall still has optimism for the team’s playoff hopes.
“I’m not saying we’re there yet, but if we find a way to just go 1-0 every week for the next four weeks, and you look up, who knows where you stand at that point in the chaos we’re all in in college football right now,” Sumrall said Monday. “If you could find your way to 9-3 at the end, there’s a lot of possibilities that can happen with what else is going on in the world.”
Sumrall brings up a fair point, as ranked teams continue to fall at a torrid pace and Florida’s resume keeps them in the hunt. UF’s three losses and split of wins and losses against SEC teams cloud its chances, but its ranked wins over then-No. 7 Texas and then-No. 4 Ole Miss continue to shine on the record.
Look past Florida’s strong results and it becomes evident why the playoff committee deemed the Gators a longshot. Losses to Missouri, South Carolina in The Swamp and Georgia stand out as much as the wins, with the Gators only mustering an average 14.7 points per game across the defeats.
Many of Florida’s opponents appear in the first CFP Poll, which will be revealed weekly and essentially replaces the AP Top 25 Poll in terms of importance for playoff implications. The SEC claims a FBS-leading 10 teams in the first edition of the poll, with five teams inside the top 12 line that determines the bracket.
No. 2 Georgia is the conference’s highest-ranked team, with No. 5 Alabama, No. 6 Kentucky, No. 7 Texas and No. 10 Ole Miss projected to reach the playoff. No. 13 Tennessee, No. 14 LSU, No. 18 Missouri, No. 21 South Carolina and the 24th-ranked Gators rounding out the first CFP Poll.
It is also noteworthy that Florida only plays one more team currently in the poll, as a matchup with the No. 6 Wildcats next Saturday provides a crucial opportunity for the Gators to climb in the CFP Poll.
Before Florida can eye up that ranked-on-ranked meeting, it must focus up on the current task at hand and keep stacking wins to stay in the hunt. The Gators look to become bowl eligible with a home win Saturday against Oklahoma (4-4, 2-3), a team that has never made a visit to Gainesville before. Kickoff between the Gators and Sooners is set for 7:45 p.m. on SEC Network, with coverage starting at 3:45 p.m. on WRUF 98.1-FM/850-AM/103.7 HD2.
“With the games we have in front of us, you know the old adage, ‘You remember the games you play in November.’ These games are valuable,” Sumrall said Monday. “How you finish matters. And you look down this last stretch, we got three conference games and a rivalry game at the end.”
Category: Feature Sports News, Gator Sports, Gators Football
