The Florida Gators dropped two more spots in USA TODAY Sports’s post-conference championship re-rank of all FBS college football teams. They come in at No. 58, ten spots behind the next closest SEC program, the Arkansas Razorbacks.
The Gators had an up-and-down first half of the season. They came out of the gate swinging with an upset win over the defending Pac-12 champion Utah Utes in [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag]’s first game as Florida’s head coach. They went from unranked to No. 19 in the USA TODAY Coaches Poll after the victory.
They then lost to Kentucky and barely got a win over in-state rival USF, leaving them out of the top 25 entirely. Their close loss to Tennessee paired with their win over Eastern Washington caused expectations to stabilize.
The Gators seemed to have found their form after a great month that saw the Gators play well in stretches of their losses to LSU and Georgia, and play very well in victories over Texas A&M and South Carolina. They then seemed to collapse in their loss against Vanderbilt. Injuries, penalties, and inconsistencies all played a part in their 31-24 loss to the Commodores. While a drastically better team this season, Vanderbilt just doesn’t have the players that Florida does, leaving most fans in shock over the result.
The Gators followed up the Vanderbilt loss with an instant classic edition of the Sunshine State Showdown against rival Florida State. After taking a 24-21 lead into the half, the Gators allowed Florida State to dominate the game in the third quarter. A back-and-forth fourth quarter ultimately saw the Seminoles win their first game in the series since 2017.
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 that, top producers like Anthony Richardson and O’Cyrus Torrence have declared for the NFL draft. Both players announced that they will skip the bowl game to prepare for the draft.
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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