Where Florida lands in The Athletic’s final college football FBS rankings

The Gators are ninth in the SEC according to The Athletics’ final FBS rankings.

It was not a memorable season for Florida football, which notched its second-straight 6-7 season despite turning the program over from [autotag]Dan Mullen[/autotag] to [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag]. The new administration is still recovering from the previous regime’s negligence, however, and there is still a long way to go as evidenced by the performance of the program on the field in 2022.

After starting the schedule off with a win over the top-10 ranked Utah Utes, the Gators embarked on a rollercoaster ride that saw some impressive moments, but unfortunately, more often stretches of futility. The team finished the season on a three-game losing streak including an inexplicable loss to the Vanderbilt Commodores, as well as a defeat at the hands of the Florida State Seminoles and an absolute shellacking by the Oregon State Beavers in the Las Vegas Bowl.

Now that the final game is over and the Georgia Bulldogs have earned their second-straight national championship, The Athletic’s senior writer Chris Vannini ranked all 131 Football Bowl Subdivision teams from first to last, including the Gators who landed at No. 52 — finishing quite short of their preseason ranking of No. 36.

Eight Southeastern Conference teams rank ahead of Florida, led by Georgia (No. 1), the Tennessee Volunteers (No. 5), Alabama Crimson Tide (No. 6), LSU Tigers (No. 17), Mississippi State Bulldogs (No. 21), South Carolina Gamecocks (No. 24), Ole Miss Rebels (No. 37) and Kentucky Wildcats (No. 38).

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