After ranking eleventh in both the USA Today Sports AFCA Coaches Poll and AP Poll, Florida has cracked the top 10 in CBS Sports’ College Football Rankings.
The Gators are up one spot after narrowly losing to Alabama, but the new ranking is more about Clemson’s poor play this week than it is about Florida. The Tigers fell six spots and out of the top 10 after struggling with Georgia Tech. Penn State benefitted the most, jumping up five spots to No. 5 after beating Auburn, which moved up two spots to No. 22.
The typical three SEC teams sit ahead of Florida inside the top 10. Alabama and Georgia stayed put at the top of the list, but Texas A&M slipped one spot to seventh. The Aggies will face sixteenth-ranked Arkansas next week, so the Gators and Razorbacks could move up if there is an upset.
Ole Miss continues to creep up the chart, moving from No. 17 to No. 12. A bye week should stall the Rebels a bit before they can surpass the Gators, and then comes Alabama.
Kentucky is closest to breaking into the top 25 at No. 30, followed by LSU at No. 38. Mississippi State (No. 46) cracks the top 50, but Missouri sits just outside at No. 52. Florida’s opponent next week, Tennessee, is ranked sixty-seventh, so the Gators shouldn’t struggle too much.
South Carolina dropped twelve spots after getting smashed by Georgia, and the Gamecocks are now at No. 76. Vanderbilt is the only SEC team with a losing record and that is outside of the CBS Sports Top 100 at No. 107.
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