Florida finished the 2023 college football season with a losing record, but the Gators are far from the worst football team in the SEC, according to ESPN’s Week 13 update to the SP+ rankings.
The Gators actually moved up two spots from No. 47 a week ago. ESPN Staff Writer Bill Connelly, the creator of SP+, reminds us each week that it’s more about the play than the outcome of the game, which explains Florida’s climb to No. 45 overall.
“In a single sentence, (SP+) is a tempo- and opponent-adjusted measure of college football efficiency,” Connelly said. “SP+ is indeed intended to be predictive and forward-facing. It is not a résumé ranking that gives credit for big wins or particularly brave scheduling.
“If you’re lucky or unimpressive in a win, your rating will probably fall. If you’re strong and unlucky in a loss, it will probably rise.”
Florida’s offense finished the season ranked No. 41 with a 30.2 rating and teh defense finished at No. 64 with a 26.9 rating. The special teams unit somewhat surprisingly finished the year inside the top 10 at No. 9 with a 1.8 rating.
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