Florida makes huge jump in The Athletic’s Week 8 SEC vibe check

For the first time this season, Florida is ranked higher than No. 14 on The Athletic’s weekly SEC vibe check. A four-touchdown win is the cause.

Florida’s Week 8 win over Kentucky sent waves of hope and positivity throughout the Gators’ fan base. So much so that even the biggest haters can’t deny the vibes in Gainesville are up.

The Athletic’s Seth Emerson, who puts together the weekly SEC vibe check, hasn’t ranked Florida higher than 14th at any point this year. But the Georgia Bulldogs beat writer couldn’t deny the Orange and Blue this week following a 48-20 win over the Wildcats.

Sure, he managed to sneak some snark in, but moving the Gators up to No. 8 in the Week 8 vibe check had to be a tough swallow.

“(Looking around.) So we’re doing this? Yeah, we’re doing this. The vibes basement dweller early in the season, the team with the dead coach walking, is still hanging around and improving,” Emerson wrote. “By lasting this long, Billy Napier now gets an awkward reunion with Jaden Rashada before or after the team’s game against Georgia in Jacksonville. Hug it out, fellas.”

Thanks, I guess.

Rashada jokes aside, things are looking up for Florida, even with a daunting schedule looming. The defense has improved week by week, and a true freshman duo at quarterback and running back just put up 400-plus offensive yards against a top-3 defensive in the league (entering Week 8).

Beating one of Georgia, Texas, LSU and Ole Miss after the bye is key, though. Florida could fall right back to where it was if none of those games are competitive, and Billy Napier would almost certainly lose his job. A 6-6 finish is achievable though, with a floundering Florida State team at the end of the tunnel.

For now, the Gators get an extra week to enjoy the win with a bye coming up. Then comes that gauntlet of top-15 teams.

Week 8 SEC vibe check rankings

  1. Georgia Bulldogs (6-1, 4-1)
  2. Tennessee Volunteers (6-1, 3-1)
  3. LSU Tigers (6-1, 3-0)
  4. Texas A&M Aggies (6-1, 4-0)
  5. Vanderbilt Commodores (5-2, 2-1)
  6. South Carolina Gamecocks (4-3, 2-3)
  7. Texas Longhorns (6-1, 2-1 SEC)
  8. Florida Gators (4-3, 2-2)
  9. Missouri Tigers (6-1, 2-1)
  10. Ole Miss Rebels (5-2, 1-2)
  11. Mississippi State Bulldogs (1-6, 0-4)
  12. Arkansas Razorbacks (4-3, 2-2)
  13. Alabama Crimson Tide (5-2, 2-2)
  14. Auburn Tigers (2-5, 0-4)
  15. Kentucky Wildcats (3-4, 1-4)
  16. Oklahoma Sooners (4-3, 1-3)

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