It looked like Florida football would get the monkey off its back against the Georgia Bulldogs on Saturday… until the injuries and mistakes began. Ultimately, the Gators fell, 34-20, in Jacksonville to their biggest rivals dropping them to 4-4 this fall with a three-pack of top opponents coming up.
With a little over five minutes to play in the second quarter, Florida’s Week 10 starter and former backup quarterback — and true freshman to boot – [autotag]DJ Lagway[/autotag] went down with what might be a season-ending injury that could also effectively end [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag]’s third (and final?) season in Gainesville.
However, the computer models do not see injuries the way the human eye does, as exemplified by ESPN’s latest Football Power Index rankings update, in which the Orange and Blue lost some ground but are still among the top 25 schools in the nation.
Florida football’s FPI ranking, rating
Following the loss, the FPI dropped Florida two spots from No. 23 to No. 25, with the team’s overall rating dropping from 10.9 points in last week’s results to 10.3 this week. That puts UF between the No. 24 Tulane Green Wave and No. 26 Missouri Tigers.
Florida is now given a 48.8% chance of winning six games this fall — down from 55.6% — along with a 0.9% chance of winning out, as well as a 0% chance of winning the conference, a microscopic 0.1% chance of making the College Football Playoffs, a 0% chance of making the championship game and a 0% chance of winning the national title. The FPI’s final record prediction dropped 0.2 wins to 5.5-6.5.
SEC teams in FPI
The Texas Longhorns (26.0 rating) remained in the top spot in the rankings this week, while the Alabama Crimson Tide (25.3) also stood pat at No. 3 overall. Georgia (23.1) stayed at No. 4 followed by the Ole Miss Rebels (6th, 22.0) and Tennessee Volunteers (8th, 20.5) to round out the top 10.
The LSU Tigers (16.0) moved up to No. 12, with the Texas A&M Aggies (16.7) trailing behind at No. 15 (14.5), South Carolina Gamecocks at No. 18 (13.3) and Florida (25th, 10.3) wrapping up the top 25.
The remainder of the conference schools in the FPI are Missouri (26th, 10.3), the Oklahoma Sooners (27th, 10.3), Arkansas Razorbacks (29th, 8.5), Auburn Tigers (32nd, 7.9), Vanderbilt Commodores (34th, 7.8), Kentucky Wildcats (44th, 5.5) and Mississippi State Bulldogs (69th, -0.7).
What’s next for the Gators?
Florida will go on the road and face the Texas Longhorns in Austin, Texas, on Saturday, Nov. 9. Kickoff is set for noon ET and will be broadcast on ABC.
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