Back in Top-10 AP Rankings, Can Florida Avoid 2020 Fate?
COVID-19, college athletes playing without NIL compensation and the NBA bubble — all were part of the sports world the last time Florida football was ranked inside the top eight of the AP Poll.
Six years later, the sports world looks vastly different, and the Gators are back at No. 8 following a 52-28 blowout against then-No. 4 Ole Miss.
While much has changed since 2020, this year’s Gators share some similarities with the last Florida team to climb this high, but there are reasons to believe this season could end differently.
Looking Back at the 2020 Gators
Riding the momentum from an 11-2 season a year prior, the Gators opened their season as the No. 5 team in the country. Led by Kyle Trask, Kyle Pitts and Kadarius Toney, Florida’s offense became the driving force behind its high ranking, much like the Gators’ offense six years later.
Opening its season in Oxford, exactly six years to the date of Saturday’s matchup, Florida defeated Ole Miss, 51-35. Trask and Pitts produced video game-like numbers, connecting for four touchdowns and 170 yards.
The performance moved Florida to No. 3 in the AP Poll, its highest ranking of the season. Returning for the home opener in The Swamp, Florida beat South Carolina, 38-24.
Florida’s momentum came to a stop the following week. The team suffered its first loss of the season in a 41-38 shootout against Texas A&M, dropping down to No. 10 in the rankings.
Florida then went three weeks without playing due to a COVID-19 outbreak within the program. Once the Gators returned, they won six straight games and climbed back to No. 6.
The 2020 Gators showed how quick a season can change, going on to lose their final three games and finishing the season at No. 13 with an 8-4 record.
Six years later, the Gators have star power that has helped them climb into the top eight, but while the similarities are there, this year’s Gators have shown signs that could give them the chance to write a different ending.
Why This Gators Team Is Different
Like the 2020 team, Florida has quickly emerged as a national championship contender, opening the season 4-0, but the identity of this team looks different than it did six years ago.
A major contributor to this new-look identity is the hard-nosed coaching style that coach Jon Sumrall brings and the chemistry throughout the locker room.
Sumrall understands the excitement the victories and top-10 ranking have brought to Gainesville, but his focus remains on where the team can improve.
“You have to humble yourself or you will be humbled,” Sumrall told his team. “If we don’t look in the mirror and own where we’re deficient still, somebody else will show it to us.”
The Gators also hired former Georgia Tech offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner, who brought along the Gators starting quarterback Aaron Philo with him. The combination of familiarity and youth across the roster has helped the team mesh together, but Sumrall recognizes the youth of his group and the room for improvement heading into Saturday’s game against No. 25 Missouri.
“When I talked about the history of us playing up at Missouri, most of the guys in the room, they don’t even know that we played up there ever,” Sumrall said. “I think we’re a very young group that we’re still figuring out how to be mature, but they’re getting there.”
Similar to the 2020 Gators, much of Florida’s success has come on the offensive side of the ball. Trask, Pitts and Toney powered one of the nation’s most dangerous passing attacks, but what makes this team different is their ability to dominate opponents in the ground game.
Through four games, running back Jadan Baugh has 600 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns, two more scores than any other player in college football. Through four games in 2020, Gators starting running back Dameon Pierce had just 169 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown. The Gators rushed for 302 rushing yards against Ole Miss, more than doubling the Rebels’ 128.
“Any time you hit 300, you got a good chance to win,” Faulkner said. “That’s an accomplishment for the offensive line, running backs, tight ends, all those guys did a great job.”
The Gators are off to a hot start and the coaching staff has laid the foundation for a potential postseason run. However, maintaining a top 12 ranking and making the College Football Playoff won’t be easy, as Florida still has to face No. 1 Texas and No. 2 Georgia, along with road matchups against No. 24 Kentucky and No. 25 Missouri.
The 2020 Gators showed how quickly a promising season can change. Six years later, this Florida team will have to find success against a difficult SEC schedule to make its stay in the top eight last longer.
Category: Former Gators, Gator Sports, Gators Football
