Florida Jumps 13 Spots to No. 8 in AP Poll

Florida’s 52-28 win against then-No. 4 Ole Miss has given the Gators a serious boost to their College Football Playoff aspirations. In turn, the Week 4 Associated Press Top 25 ranking reflects how important the win was for UF.

Florida (4-0, 2-0 SEC) moved up 13 spots from their No. 21 ranking in the Week 3 edition of the poll to No. 8 in this week’s poll. Over the past two weeks, the Gators, under first-year coach Jon Sumrall, have risen 19 spots after starting the season unranked.

It’s Florida’s first top-10 ranking since Week 5 of 2021 when it was No. 10. Florida was last as high as No. 8 in the preseason rankings for the 2020 season.

The Gators are also ranked No. 8 in the USA Today Coaches poll.

Florida’s victory against the Rebels was the first time it took down a top-five opponent at The Swamp since 2015. The last occurrence 10 years ago also came against Ole Miss, with Will Grier’s four touchdowns leading the Gators to a 38-10 victory against the No. 3 Rebels.

The win also brought forth impressive statistics that highlight Florida’s offensive dominance. The 52-point production marks the first time since the 1996 National Champion team that the Gators scored 50-plus points in three of their first four games. It is also the first time that Florida has scored 40 or more points in four consecutive games since the 2008 National Championship-winning squad did so.

Despite the praise that both offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner has received and Sumrall for his aggressiveness in the win, the focus remains on what is left to come for Florida.

“I believe in our team. I believe in the direction we’re headed,” said Sumrall, who became the first coach in SEC history to score 200-plus points in his first four games. “We still are not a finished product by any stretch of the imagination.”

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The SEC was also shaken up in other places by Week 4’s results. Multiple teams dropped in the latest poll, with 19th-ranked Missouri falling to No. 24 Mississippi State and No. 14 Tennessee losing at home against top-ranked Texas.

The conference still boasts 10 ranked teams, with No. 1 Texas, No. 2 Georgia, No. 7 Alabama, the No. 8 Gators and No. 9 Ole Miss all ranked within the top 10. No. 11 LSU, No. 16 Mississippi State, No. 17 Tennessee, No. 24 Kentucky and No. 25 Missouri round out the remaining conference teams in the Week 4 poll.

As the Gators have earned their place as one of college football’s hottest teams, the attention rests on keeping momentum. The expectation is such for Sumrall, who is not concerned with what the national media thinks about his team. 

The Gators open as a 5.5-point favorite at Missouri.

“Nobody posts anything up in the building about this year’s team where you’re ranked in week four,” Sumrall said Monday. “That’s got nothing to do with the goal. It’s about how we get to 1-0 each week.”

Florida’s next chance to build on its first 4-0 start since 2019 is Saturday against Missouri (3-1, 0-1) at 3:30 p.m. on ABC, with coverage beginning at 12:30 p.m. on WRUF 98.1-FM/850-AM/103.7 HD2.

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