Billy Napier managed to turn down the temperature on his head coach hot seat on Saturday night thanks to an authoritative 48-20 homecoming win over the Kentucky Wildcats in the Swamp.
Florida looked good on both sides of the ball in Week 8, with a pair of freshmen leading the offense while the defense matched its entire interception total during the 2023 season in one night. It might have been the best overall effort by the Gators seen in quite some time.
The national sports media took note of the results and many have rewarded the Orange and Blue for the win, including The Athletic’s Chris Vannini, who submitted his re-rank of all 134 FBS teams once the dust finally settled.
Florida’s re-rank after Week 8
Vannini’s update has Florida improving 12 spots to No. 46 — one spot behind the Gators’ standing in USA TODAY Sports’ Week 8 re-rank. That puts Florida between the No. 45 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and No. 47 Virginia Tech Hokies.
As far as fellow Southeastern Conference schools are concerned, only Kentucky (No. 49), the Auburn Tigers (No. 81) and Mississippi State Bulldogs (No. 93) are ranked lower.
The Athletic’s Week 8 Top 10 re-rank
The Oregon Ducks maintain their top perch in the rankings this week, followed by the Georgia Bulldogs, Penn State Nittany Lions, Ohio State Buckeyes and Miami Hurricanes, respectively, among the top five.
The Texas Longhorns come in at No. 6, while the BYU Cougars, Tennessee Volunteers, LSU Tigers and Clemson Tigers wrap up the nation’s top 10 according to the re-rank, respectively.
Coming up for the Gators
The Gators are off next week due to their bye week. The next matchup for Florida will be against Georgia on Nov. 2 in Jacksonville. That game will kick off at 3:30 p.m. ET and can be seen on ABC.
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