The Florida Gators come in at No. 18 in the latest AP poll after losing to the now No. 9 Kentucky Wildcats 26-16 at home.
The Orange and Blue started the season unranked but jumped to No. 12 after beating then No. 7 Utah Utes in a thrilling 29-26 victory in Billy Napier’s first game as Florida head coach.
There were questions about the Gators’ leap from unranked (and not receiving votes) to a top-15 ranking. Saturday’s game against Kentucky proved to be a reality check for a Florida football program that preached patience all off-season. The upset victory accelerated expectations for the Gators fan base. The Kentucky loss brought expectations back to reality.
Kentucky’s 11-spot increase from No. 20 to No. 9 is the biggest leap in the AP poll this week. The top ten ranking marks the first time the Wildcats are ranked in the top 10 of the AP poll since Week 6 of the 2007 season, where they came in at No. 8.
Other notable AP rankings include Georgia swapping places with Alabama to become the new No. 1, Arkansas going from No. 16 to No. 10, BYU going from No. 21 to No. 12, Tennessee going from No. 24 to No. 15, and Texas A&M dropping from No. 6 to No. 24 after losing to App State. App State will host College Gameday next week and received 80 votes in the AP poll.
New @AP_Top25 poll
1-Georgia
2-Bama
3-Ohio St
4-Michigan
5-Clemson
6-OU
7-USC
8-Okla St
9-Kentucky
10-Ark
11-Mich St
12-BYU
13-Miami
14-Utah
15-Tenn
16-NC St
17-Baylor
18-Florida
19-Wake
20-Ole Miss
21-Texas
22-Penn St
23-Pitt
24-A&M
25-Oregon
(Don't blame me, not my ballot)— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) September 11, 2022
The Florida Gators take on USF Saturday to wrap up their three-game home stand to start the season. Kick-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. EDT. The game will be broadcast on the SEC Network.
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