Tag: Florida Gators

Florida holds steady in latest CBS Sports College Football Rankings

CBS Sports has three SEC teams in its Top 5 but Florida isn’t one of them.

Florida stayed put at No. 10 in the CBS Sports rankings this week, despite some major upsets in college football this weekend.

Arkansas‘ big win over Texas A&M, Clemson’s loss to NC State and Oklahoma‘s struggles against West Virginia helped shake up the top 10, but Alabama, Georgia and Oregon all stayed put at the top. Penn State slid up to No. 4 and Arkansas jumped an impressive 11 spots to fifth-best in the nation.

Notre Dame was the other big beneficiary of Oklahoma slipping to No. 9 as the Fighting Irish moved up five spots to No. 8. Despite having a bye week, Ole Miss crept up a spot to land just behind Florida and give the Southeastern Conference five teams in the top 11. Texas A&M dropped 10 spots to No. 17 following the upset loss.

Auburn, the other SEC team to make it in the Top 25 for both major polls, was left just outside the CBS Sports Top 25 after struggling with Georgia State. Florida’s opponent this week, Kentucky, stayed put at No. 30 after a closer-than-expected win over South Carolina. And LSU sits right behind UK, moving up seven spots following a win over No. 47 Mississippi State.

Tennessee (No. 70) and South Carolina (No. 79) continue to sink in the rankings after suffering conference losses, and Vanderbilt rounds out the group eight spots from the bottom at No. 122. The Commodores at least get to face the last-ranked UConn Huskies next week, so that should be fun for fans of bad football.

CBS Sports College Football Rankings Top 25

RANK TEAM RECORD PREVIOUS
1 Alabama 4-0 1
2 Georgia 4-0 2
3 Oregon 4-0 3
4 Penn State 4-0 5
5 Arkansas 4-0 16
6 Iowa 4-0 6
7 Cincinnati 3-0 8
8 Notre Dame 4-0 13
9 Oklahoma 4-0 4
10 Florida 3-1 10
11 Ole Miss 3-0 12
12 Ohio State 3-1 9
13 Michigan 4-0 14
14 Michigan State 4-0 19
15 BYU 4-0 18
16 Coastal Carolina 4-0 20
17 Texas A&M 3-1 7
18 Wake Forest 4-0 32
19 Texas 3-1 36
20 Maryland 4-0 26
21 Baylor 4-0 47
22 Fresno State 4-1 23
23 Boston College 4-0 35
24 Oklahoma State 4-0 39
25 UCLA 3-1 24

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This 5-star 2023 defensive back has Florida in his Top 7

Florida is one of five teams in the Southeastern Conference to make 5-star DB Tony Mitchell’s latest cut.

Five-star defensive back Tony Mitchell is still a junior in high school, but he’s narrowed down his options to play at the next level from 10 schools to seven.

Florida joins Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, LSU, Oregon and Texas A&M in the latest cut for Mitchell. Florida State, Miami and Ohio State are all out of the race for now, and it seems almost certain that Mitchell will be playing college ball in the Southeastern Conference.

Although Mitchell plays for Thompson High School in Alabama, he’s from Florida. Committing to the Gators would give him the opportunity to play in front of family, and Mitchell says he’s had a good relationship with the Florida staff from the beginning.

Mitchell committed to Tennessee before getting to high school, but he changed his mind after visiting Alabama and receiving more national interest as a freshman. The Crimson Tide are the 247Sports crystal ball favorites for Mitchell with three predictions from lead experts on ‘Bama’s side.

Alabama and Georgia have already hosted Mitchell this fall, and he plans to be in attendance this weekend when Ole Miss comes to Tuscaloosa for a top-25 showdown. The Gators will get their chance to impress against LSU on October 16 unless Mitchell is forced to miss the game for some reason.

Mitchell is the No. 11 overall recruit and No. 2 cornerback for 2023, according to the 247Sports Composite. His sophomore year highlights can be found below via Hudl.

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Notre Dame’s bowl outlook still peachy according to ESPN

Hot-lanta?

Although the Irish have finally gotten an early signature win over Wisconsin, there really hasn’t been much change to how they’re viewed for a bowl destination. The projections before the season, many of which had Notre Dame heading to the Peach Bowl, haven’t changed.

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Today, ESPN released their updated bowl projections (insider) and both Kyle Bonagura and Mark Schlabach have the Irish heading to Atlanta to partake in the Peach Bowl. The difference between the two are who they’ll play in a New Year’s Six game.

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Schlabach has the Irish facing off against Wake Forest, not the most intriguing opponent. Currently the Demon Deacons are just inside both polls. That matchup really doesn’t move the needle for me too much.

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Bonagura on the other hand has the Irish potentially facing Florida, which would be a Top-10 matchup. This game would bring many more eyes, as Notre Dame facing off against an SEC opponent would be a great measuring stick.

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The season is just in it’s early stages so these projections are exactly what they are, projections. It is fun to see where and who the Irish could play in the offseason however.

Emory Jones named SEC Co-Offensive Player of the Week

Jones was the first Florida quarterback to rush for 100 yards and throw for 200 since Tim Tebow in 2009.

Florida quarterback Emory Jones has had a rough start to the season, and after tossing two touchdowns and four interceptions in the first two games, many wanted to see his backup, the explosive Anthony Richardson. But since the first quarter interception he threw against Alabama, Jones has been fantastic.

He didn’t give the ball away against Tennessee, and he notched career highs in completions (21) passing yards (209) and rushing yards (144). That was good enough for Jones to be named the SEC Co-Offensive Player of the Week alongside Arkansas receiver Treylon Burks.

On Saturday, Jones became the first Florida quarterback since Tim Tebow in 2009 to rush for 100 yards and throw for 200 in the same game, and he led the SEC in rushing yards for the week. He had two touchdowns and no interceptions on a 21-of-27 passing night.

Jones continues to show progress, and it’s starting to make sense why coach Dan Mullen chose to stick with him despite the early struggles. He has a tougher test this week, though, in a Kentucky team that hasn’t lost yet. We’ll see if Jones can continue to build off performances like he had against the Volunteers.

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Where does Kaiir Elam stand in the latest CBS Sports mock draft?

Elam is projected as a top-10 pick by CBS Sports’ Ryan Wilson.

Kaiir Elam is one of the best cornerbacks in college football. According to Pro Football Focus, he has allowed catches on just four of his 10 targets this season, and we saw firsthand how important he is to Florida’s secondary.

Without him against the Tennessee Volunteers, UF’s depth was strained. Backup Mordecai McDaniel was completely out of position on the 75-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter, and that’s a play that Elam likely wouldn’t have given up.

Elam is expected to return this week, and that’s good news for the Gators. It’s also good news for his draft stock, which remains very high after four games. CBS Sports’ Ryan Wilson projected that Elam would go ninth overall to the Washington Football Team in his latest 2022 mock draft.

We have no idea what happened to WFT’s defense but it will be hard to pass on a cornerback of Elam’s talents here. He has the size (6-foot-2, 190) and athleticism to be one of the best draft-eligible corners in ’21. He had an up-and-down effort against Alabama over the weekend but he’s a physical playmaking presence in the secondary.

At cornerback, Washington has Kendall Fuller, who has been with the team for six seasons now, and William Jackson III, who it acquired on a big free-agent deal this offseason. Elam could potentially challenge Fuller for the starting spot on the other side.

Elam is still considered the second-best cornerback in the draft behind LSU‘s Derek Stingley Jr., who is projected to go third overall, but with a strong finish to the season, Elam could look to raise his stock above Stingley’s.

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Looking back on the weird and wild ways Kentucky has lost to Florida

You all know most of the stories because they are part of the Gator DNA. Still, a quick look back at the craziness of a crazy series.

There is one stat, one piece of historical knowledge, that should tell you everything you need to know about Florida’s series against Kentucky in football.

And it is this – Florida has beaten Kentucky more times than it has beaten any other team.

The Gators have won 53 times against the Wildcats, almost all of them on one of the campuses.

That’s more than Florida has defeated Georgia (44), Vanderbilt (42), Auburn (39) or Florida State (36).

But to simply point to the Gators winning 33 of the last 34 games would be a disservice to a team that has often given Florida all it could handle before falling away in a pool of Big Blue misery.

Florida-Kentucky is a weird series, which is why the older you are as a Gator fan, the more trepidatious about Saturday’s game and at the same time wondering how Kentucky will screw it up.

There was a time when the Wildcats could go into this game with a chance to win and certainly one would think they have a chance in this one. Way back when we only had one game to watch each Saturday, Kentucky stayed right with Florida, actually having the lead in the series 16-14 after taking four of six in the late 1970s.

But then Charley Pell happened. And then Galen Hall. And it just kept getting worse.

But, see, you can’t tell the story of this series without talking about the magical way Florida has been able to win some of those games and the way Kentucky has been — for four decades — the gift that keeps on giving.

You all know most of the stories because they are part of the Gator DNA. Still, a quick look back at the craziness of a crazy series.

Gators News: Baseball top-ranked in recruiting, former softball star scores big

Even on a slow news day there can be good news.

As Tuesdays are wont to be, today is a bit of a low news day as no sports programs are in competition until Thursday. However, the baseball team got some good news on Monday when one prestigious publication announced that the Gators have the top recruiting class in the nation and a former Florida standout claims the top prize in her softball league. Here is a quick look at the latest from the Gator Nation.

Here’s how CBS Sports grades UF’s Week 4 performance

CBS Sports’ Barrett Sallee gave the Gators a “B+,” saying that Emory Jones played his best game as Florida’s starter.

Florida’s 38-14 win over Tennessee was close at halftime, but it wasn’t for very long after that. The Gators’ offense rolled for another successful game on the ground, and quarterback Emory Jones had a very solid game through the air.

UF’s defense was a bit concerning as the Volunteers were able to hit a couple of early big plays that helped keep the contest within reach in the first half, but it tightened up much more later on.

Overall, CBS Sports’ Barrett Sallee was impressed by Florida’s performance, and he gave the team a “B+” grade for its efforts on Saturday.

The Gators let Tennessee hang around for a bit, but Emory Jones and Malik Davis put the game out of reach in the second half. It’s a rivalry, so it was no surprise to see Tennessee play up to its competition for a half or so. Jones had his best game as Florida’s starter — by far.

The Vols certainly gave the Gators a fight in the first half, but Florida managed to avoid mistakes on offense, and UT was shut out in the second half.

It was a solid follow-up to a heartbreaking but impressive loss to Alabama last week, and it should give the team (and Jones especially) a boost in confidence heading into a road game against a Kentucky team who could prove to be tricky for UF.

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What do Florida’s playoff chances look like after Week 4?

Here’s what ESPN’s CFP model says about Florida’s chances to make the four-team field.

The Gators already have a loss on the 2021 season, which certainly makes a playoff berth an uphill battle with little room for error. But with that being said, Florida made Alabama look vulnerable in that game, and if it can successfully pull off an upset against Georgia, it will likely draw a rematch with the Crimson Tide with a College Football Playoff spot on the line.

Currently, ESPN’s CFP model gives UF an 11% chance to make the playoff as things currently stand. Those odds aren’t great, but the model also allows us to test multiple scenarios and see how they affect Florida’s odds. For example, if the Gators are able to win out the rest of the year (including the SEC Championship), they have a 98% chance of making the CFP field.

However, those odds decrease significantly (though not to zero) if the Gators were to lose to the Crimson Tide in a rematch in the conference title game. In that circumstance, a two-loss UF team would have a 42% chance of making the field.

Obviously, dropping another game in the regular season would seriously dampen those hopes, but it wouldn’t end them entirely. If Florida loses to Georgia, it only has a 17% chance of making the CFP as a non-division champion. However, if that loss is someone other than Georgia and a two-loss UF team is somehow able to win the East and then the conference, it would likely become the first two-loss playoff team in history with an 83% chance to make the field.

These odds are obviously very fluid, and the common theme is that if Florida does not win the SEC, it will need a lot of outside help to crack the playoff field. But despite the early loss, a playoff appearance is still absolutely on the table for this team if it can avoid further slipups.

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Gators rise in latest SP+ rankings after win over Vols

The Gators moved up to No. 4 in the latest update of Bill Connelly’s SP+ rankings.

While Florida’s defense allowed several big plays on Saturday that kept Tennessee in the game early on, it was a fairly dominating performance for the Gators, who gained more than 500 yards on offense en route to a 38-14 win.

With that victory, UF saw a fairly big rise in this week’s SP+ rankings, the analytics system created by ESPN’s Bill Connelly. SP+ attempts to be a pure efficiency measure that attempts to control for tempo and opponent while only taking quality of play, not wins and losses, into account.

And in Connelly’s Week 4 update of the rankings, Florida ranks No. 4 nationally. There’s a bit of a log jam in the top 10, as the Gators and the No. 8 ranked Michigan Wolverines are less than two points apart from one another.

In spite of the Week 2 loss to Oregon, Ohio State is the only other one-loss team ranked ahead of the Gators, coming in at No. 3. Meanwhile, there’s a new No. 1, as Georgia has jumped now-No. 2 Alabama after a 62-0 win at Vanderbilt.

Florida’s high ranking is largely thanks to its offense, which ranks third in the nation according to SP+. The passing attack has been inconsistent, but the Gators have arguably the best ground game in college football. Defensively, things have been a lot better this season. Though the unit isn’t elite, it still ranks a respectable 23rd. Special teams for Florida are less impressive, ranking just 50th.

It’s clear that the numbers buy into this UF team. But we’ll see if the Gators have what it takes to spring an upset against Georgia and capture back-to-back SEC East titles.

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