ESPN’s Football Power Index has been inexplicably high on the Gators all season. Even as the team dropped games to Kentucky, LSU and Georgia, it remained in the FPI top 10.
But everything fell apart on Saturday night. The Gators had no answer for SEC bottom-feeder South Carolina, who absolutely dominated it en route to a 40-17 win at home. The loss leaves the program facing some hard questions about its future, and finally, Florida has dropped in the FPI from No. 8 to No. 20.
Still, this is significantly higher than the Gators probably deserve based on the way they’ve played. They rank above two 8-1 teams in Oregon and Michigan State, and UF, alongside Texas (which ranks one spot above it) are the only two teams with a losing record in the top 25.
ESPN still gives Florida a roughly 65% chance of winning out, but that percentage has dropped quite a bit after the showing on Saturday night, and the team should be significantly less confident in games at Missouri and vs. Florida State at home.
The Gators appear to be full-on spiraling, and this probably won’t be their last drop in the rankings.
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