Florida came up just short of pulling off one of the biggest upsets of the college football season on Saturday, but it wasn’t punished too heavily for what was overall an excellent effort despite the loss. In the post-Week 3 update to the USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll, Florida did fall, but only three spots to No. 12.
The Gators fell behind No. 10 Notre Dame and No. 11 Ohio State in the latest update, who they previously ranked above, and they were jumped by Penn State, who now sits at No. 8.
Still, the slight drop is a testament to how impressive the Gators looked in spite of the loss. The margin was even closer than in last year’s SEC Championship despite all the pieces the Gators lost.
UF is still the fourth-highest ranked SEC team behind No. 1 Alabama, No. 2 Georgia and No. 5 Texas A&M, and it’s got Ole Miss, who currently ranks 13th, right on its tail. Still, a couple of wins and some help from the teams around it should be enough for the Gators to get back into the top 10.
Here’s the full Coaches Poll for this week.
Full USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll:
| Rank | Team | Record | Points | Change |
| 1 | Alabama | 3-0 | 1,616 | – |
| 2 | Georgia | 3-0 | 1,558 | – |
| 3 | Oklahoma | 3-0 | 1,429 | – |
| 4 | Oregon | 3-0 | 1,427 | – |
| 5 | Texas A&M | 3-0 | 1,283 | – |
| 6 | Iowa | 3-0 | 1,263 | +1 |
| 7 | Clemson | 2-1 | 1,166 | -1 |
| 8 | Penn State | 3-0 | 1,130 | +4 |
| 9 | Cincinnati | 3-0 | 1,125 | -1 |
| 10 | Notre Dame | 3-0 | 1,048 | – |
| 11 | Ohio State | 2-1 | 989 | – |
| 12 | Florida | 2-1 | 983 | -3 |
| 13 | Ole Miss | 3-0 | 759 | +3 |
| 14 | Iowa State | 2-1 | 700 | – |
| 15 | Wisconsin | 1-1 | 589 | +2 |
| 16 | BYU | 3-0 | 504 | +7 |
| 17 | Coastal Carolina | 3-0 | 500 | +1 |
| 18 | Arkansas | 3-0 | 474 | +6 |
| 19 | Michigan | 3-0 | 423 | +6 |
| 20 | North Carolina | 2-1 | 411 | -1 |
| 21 | Michigan State | 3-0 | 344 | +8 |
| 22 | Oklahoma State | 3-0 | 300 | -3 |
| 23 | Auburn | 2-1 | 171 | -3 |
| 24 | UCLA | 2-1 | 170 | -11 |
| 25 | Fresno State | 3-1 | 85 | +16 |
Dropped from the rankings:
No. 15 Virginia Tech; No. 21 Arizona State.
Others receiving votes:
Liberty 80; Kentucky 69; Texas Christian 50; Virginia Tech 49; Texas 42; Southern California 41; San Diego State 41; Kansas State 40; Memphis 27; Boston College 27; Maryland 26; Arizona State 26; Louisiana State 25; Wake Forest 22; West Virginia 19; UL Lafayette 17; Florida State 17; Baylor 13; Army 12; Southern Methodist 8; Nevada 7; Stanford 6; Central Florida 6; Utah State 2; Tennessee 2; Rutgers 2; Texas-San Antonio 1; Miami 1.
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