ESPN has released its latest FPI rankings, with the Florida Gators dropping after their 31-24 loss at the hands of the Vanderbilt Commodores.
The FPI rankings were developed by ESPN in 2013 to measure each team’s overall strength and predict results throughout the season. As the schedule progresses, the data used to determine a team’s FPI ranking will come from the games played while also predicting the outcomes for each future matchup.
The metric has not been kind to the Orange and Blue this season. They started out hot with an upset win over Utah in [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag]’s first game as Gators’ head coach. Afterward, the team struggled against Kentucky and USF, losing to the Wildcats and barely sneaking past the Bulls with a victory. Statistically, these were not the best performances from the Gators.
They bounced back statistically in their 38-33 loss to Tennessee and their 52-17 win over Eastern Washington. The defensive metrics improved on the back of [autotag]Jayden Hill[/autotag]’s two interceptions (including one pick-six) in the Gators’ 24-17 victory over Missouri.
Following the Gators’ disappointing performances in their losses to LSU and Georgia, the metric swung them back to mediocre. They responded by beating Texas A&M on the road, defying the FPI’s individual game projection which gave them a 32.8% chance of winning the game. They followed that up with a dominant performance against South Carolina, clinching bowl eligibility and matching FPI’s projected win total for most of the season.
After all the progress they showed, they had a disappointing performance against Vanderbilt. The Gators could not establish their rushing identity all game, tallying only 45 total rushing yards. As a result, [autotag]Anthony Richardson[/autotag] threw for 400 yards, a positive sign for Richardson but a negative sign for the offense as a whole. The defense also struggled mightily with penalties at costly moments. Special teams also had their dark moments, with a muffed punt leading to a Vanderbilt touchdown.
The Gators wrap up their schedule Friday when they travel to Tallahassee to take on in-state rivals Florida State in a special Black Friday edition of the Sunshine State Showdown. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. EST. and the game will be broadcast on ABC Sports.
Here are the latest game-by-game and season-long FPI updates for the Florida Gators.