Having not participated in conference championship week, the Florida Gators maintain their positions at No. 34 in ESPN’s latest SP+ rankings, per Bill Connelly.
Connelly developed the SP+ ranking system in 2008 and, in his own words, is “a tempo- and opponent-adjusted measure of college football efficiency” and “intended to be predictive and forward-facing.”
The offensive metric is much kinder to the Orange and Blue than the defensive metric. Offensively, the Gators are the 17th-best team in SP+, with a rating of 39.4. Defensively, Florida is the 78th-best team in SP+, with a rating of 29.1. With such contrasting numbers, it makes sense that the Gators would finish the regular season with a 6-6 record.
The stark difference in the rating properly explains the Orange and Blue’s regular season. Offensively, the Gators were one of the best rushing teams in the nation. Their three-headed monster of [autotag]Montrell Johnson Jr[/autotag]., [autotag]Trevor Etienne[/autotag] and [autotag]Anthony Richardson[/autotag] did their jobs behind a talented offensive line led by [autotag]O’Cyrus Torrence[/autotag]. Both Richardson and Torrence have declared for the NFL draft and will not participate in the Gators’ bowl game.
Florida’s defensive ranking accurately represents the journey the unit took over the course of the season. Sometimes, the defense looked lost and confused. Other times, the defense was locked in and determined to get off the field. They even recorded at least one turnover in all 12 games this season
The Gators now turn their attention to their opponent for the Las Vegas Bowl opponent, the Oregon State Beavers likely entering the game shorthanded, as multiple players have left the team via the transfer portal, in addition to Richardson and Torrence’s absence.
The Las Vegas Bowl will be played at Allegiant Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 17. Kickoff is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. EST with the game broadcast on ESPN.
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