Florida football got its second breather of the 2024 campaign last weekend with a bye, giving the Gators to prepare for the biggest game on its schedule against the Georgia Bulldogs next weekend.
So far, the Orange and Blue have amassed a 4-3 overall record, splitting the four games it has played against fellow Southeastern Conference schools. A near miss against the Tennessee Volunteers two weeks ago in Knoxville that saw Florida fall in overtime would have put the program on the path to six wins this season.
Now, the Gators face a veritable gauntlet over the next few weeks.
While Billy Napier and Co. were on their off week, most of the other teams were busy on the collegiate gridiron. Those results shifted Florida’s position on some of the rankings, including ESPN’s Football Power Index.
Florida football’s FPI ranking, rating
Despite being idle during Week 9, the Gators fell one spot from No. 22 to No. 23 while their overall rating also fell from 11.3 to 10.9. That puts them between the No. 22 Colorado Buffaloes and No. 24 Missouri Tigers.
Florida is now given a 55.6% chance of winning six games this fall — down from 55.8% last week — along with a 0.2% chance of winning out, as well as a 0% chance of winning the conference, a microscopic 0.3% 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 predicts currently remains at 5.7-6.3.
SEC teams in FPI
The Texas Longhorns (25.7 rating) took back the top spot in the rankings this week, while the Alabama Crimson Tide (25.0) remained at No. 3 overall. Georgia (22.9) logs in at No. 4, followed by the Tennessee Volunteers (6th, 21.5) and Ole Miss Rebels (7th, 21.4) to round out the top 10.
The Texas A&M Aggies (16.7) moved up to No. 12, with the LSU Tigers (14th, 16.3), South Carolina Gamecocks (21st, 11.5), Florida (23rd, 10.9), Missouri Tigers (24th, 10.6) and Arkansas Razorbacks (25th, 10.4) wrapping up the top 25.
The remainder of the conference schools in the FPI are the Oklahoma Sooners (29th, 9.3), Auburn Tigers (30th, 9.3), Vanderbilt Commodores (37th, 6.7), Kentucky Wildcats (50th, 4.7) and Mississippi State Bulldogs (72nd, -0.9).
About ESPN’s FPI
“The Football Power Index is a measure of team strength that is meant to be the best predictor of a team’s performance going forward for the rest of the season,” according to ESPN.
“FPI represents how many points above or below average a team is. Projected results are based on 20,000 simulations of the rest of the season using FPI, results to date, and the remaining schedule.”
Coming up for Florida
Florida and Georgia face off for a Week 10 rivalry battle in Jacksonville on Saturday, Nov. 2 with kickoff slated for 3:30 p.m. ET. The pregame festivities will be featured on SEC Nation and the game will be broadcast on ABC.
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