Tag: usa today sports

Gators jump up USA TODAY Sports college football re-rank after Week 8

Florida cracks USA TODAY Sports’ re-rank top 50 after its homecoming win over Kentucky.

Florida football defended its home field on homecoming last weekend, routing the visiting Kentucky Wildcats, 48-20, en route to the Gators’ fourth win in seven tries this season and second in four Southeastern Conference matchups.

Not only did the Orange and Blue tag a W in the win column, both the offense and defense looked solid on Saturday night. Freshman quarterback [autotag]DJ Lagway[/autotag], who made his first SEC start with [autotag]Graham Mertz[/autotag] out for the season, showcased his rocket-launcher arm; fellow freshman running back [autotag]Jaden Baugh[/autotag] rushed for five touchdowns, tying the Florida single-game record held by [autotag]Tim Tebow[/autotag] and Trey Burton.

The secondary also matched the team total for interceptions all last season in just one game, including a pick six.

As a result of the Week 8 triumph, Florida saw its stock rise in many of the polls and rankings, including USA TODAY Sports writer Paul Myerberg’s re-rank of all 134 FBS schools.

Florida’s Week 8 re-rank position

Myerberg came away impressed with the win but still is bearish on the Gators overall, lifting them 11 spots to No. 45 this week. That puts Florida between the No. 44 Tulane Green Wave and No. 46 Western Kentucky Colonels.

Billy Napier’s squad is ahead of four other SEC programs in the rankings, with the Arkansas Razorbacks (No. 53), Kentucky (No. 64), Auburn Tigers (No. 90) and Mississippi State Bulldogs (No. 107) lagging behind.

USA TODAY Sports Week 8 re-rank top 10

The Oregon Ducks claimed the top spot this week after the currently second-ranked Georgia Bulldogs dethroned the now-seventh-ranked Texas Longhorns. The Ohio State Buckeyes, Penn State Nittany Lions and Miami Hurricanes, respectively, wrap up the top five.

Coming in sixth are Iowa State Cyclones, followed by Texas, the Clemson Tigers, LSU Tigers and Tennessee Volunteers, respectively, to cap the top 10.

Coming up for the Gators

The Gators are off next week due to their bye week. The next matchup for Florida will be against the Georgia Bulldogs on Nov. 2 in Jacksonville. That game will kick off at 3:30 p.m. ET and can be seen on ABC.

Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

USC is definitely not getting bang for the buck with Lincoln Riley

The USA TODAY Sports list of college coaches’ salaries is out. Lincoln Riley is a highly-paid head coach. USC has to wonder when the investment will pay off.

USA TODAY Sports published its annual list of college football head coaching salaries on Wednesday. The top five coaches on the list and seven of the top eight have all made the College Football Playoff. The top two coaches on the list have won multiple national championships. In that group of highly-paid coaches is Lincoln Riley. The USC head coach did have a superb season in 2022, but the trajectory of the program is, at best, stuck in neutral right now before recruiting reinforcements arrive in 2025. A coach being paid a top-five national salary is supposed to do more with the investment USC has made in his talent and reputation.

It’s impossible to say that the USC program is headed upward right now, given the 3-3 start to the season and a poor track record in close games. USC is 1-3 in games decided by a margin of one score (eight points or fewer), the mark of a team which comes close but can’t finish the job.

It is too early to write off Riley at USC. He basically threw away one year, 2023, by retaining Alex Grinch. Now he is playing catch-up. The 2024 season had high hopes, but being realistic, USC was not in an ideal position to contend for championships this season. The Trojans need to stockpile talent, especially on the front lines. They need to land big fish in the transfer portal and bring in an offensive line coach who can recruit better than what Josh Henson has done. The 2024 season won’t be a success unless USC can win each of its next six games, which is highly unlikely. The Trojans have to show something more in 2025. We will see what the state of the program is 13 or 14 months from now. Then Lincoln Riley’s future can be evaluated more fully. Right now, we can simply say that USC isn’t getting anything close to a maximum return on its investment.

Visit our friends at Fighting Irish Wire, Buffaloes Wire, Ducks Wire, UW Huskies Wire and UCLA Wire.

USA TODAY Sports deems Billy Napier college football’s most overpaid HC

USA TODAY Sports’ annual college football head coach salary report is out, and experts conclude that Billy Napier is the most overpaid coach in 2024.

Florida head coach [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] is on top of USA TODAY Sports’ list of the most overpaid head coaches in the country.

At the midway point of Year 3 under Napier, the Gators are 14-17 overall and could be headed for a third-straight losing season. Napier is set to earn $7,370,000 this year, according to USA TODAY Sports’ annual analysis of coaches’ compensation, and the math works out to about $1 million per win so far.

Those kinds of results are not acceptable at the University of Florida and usually mean a change is coming. Many believe this will be Napier’s last season with the Gators, which shifts the focus to buyout numbers.

To fire Napier without cause — no, losing a bunch of games in the SEC is not enough to fire someone with cause — it would cost Florida $26,704,167. Keep in mind that Florida would also have to fork over some big bucks to find a suitable replacement for Napier, but that’s never stopped the boosters in the past. After all, this is the SEC — where “it just means more.”

It appears the only path for Napier to save his job is beating the two remaining unranked opponents on the schedule — Florida State and Kentucky — and pulling off an upset against Georgia, LSU, Ole Miss or Texas to reach bowl eligibility. Even then, the athletic department could decide to move on.

Other overpaid head coaches

Napier isn’t the only SEC head coach on this list. Second-year Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze is right behind him after starting off 2-4 following a losing 2023 season.

Wisconsin head coach Luke Fickell is third on the list, and there’s a clear trend developing. Napier had success at Louisiana, Freeze thrived at Liberty and Fickell made the College Football Playoff with Cincinnati. All three have struggled to duplicate that success in a major conference.

Fourth on the list is Florida State’s Mike Norvell, who is coming off an undefeated regular season. It’s shocking to think that a team can go 12-0 and have a coach on the hot seat one year later, but Florida State has been cursed since missing the College Football Playoff last year.

Georgia demolished them by 60 points in the Orange and Bowl, and Florida State would have to win out to even reach bowl eligibility in 2024 after starting the year 1-5. However, moving on from Norvell appears unlikely with a $63.8 million buyout.

Rounding out the group is former NFL quarterback Trent Dilfer at the University of Alabama-Birmingham. Before Dilfer took over, UAB was one of the top Group of Five programs in the country, but the Blazers are 5-13 since.

“The former Super Bowl-winning quarterback will go down as one of the worst hires of the decade,” said USA TODAY’s Paul Myerbeg.

Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

Gators slip in USA TODAY Sports re-rank after Week 7 loss at Vols

Florida slipped three spots in USA TODAY Sports’ college football Week 7 re-rank.

Florida football fell to an even 3-3 overall record this weekend after a 23-17 overtime loss at the Tennessee Volunteers in Knoxville — a game that the Gators had opportunities to win but simply could not pull off the upset.

However, hanging with a top-10 team for a full 60 minutes while losing your starting quarterback along the way is nothing to scoff at. The defense by far played its best game and despite [autotag]Graham Mertz[/autotag]’s injury, the passing game got the job done.

The sports media had different reactions to Saturday night’s results, including USA TODAY Sports writer Paul Myerberg in his Week 7 re-rank of all 134 FBS schools.

Florida’s Week 7 re-rank position

Myerberg was clearly unimpressed with what he saw from the Orange and Blue in Neyland Stadium this past weekend. He docked [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag]’s squad three spots from last week’s update, putting Florida at No. 56 despite nearly upsetting an SEC foe on the road.

That nestles the Gators between the No. 55 Kentucky Wildcats and No. 57 Toledo Rockets. It also ranks them at No. 14 among Southeastern Conference programs, only better than the Auburn Tigers (No. 83) and Mississippi State Bulldogs (No. 103).

USA TODAY Sports Week 7 re-rank top 10

The Texas Longhorns remain in the top spot, followed by the Oregon Ducks, Ohio State Buckeyes, Penn State Nittany Lions and Georgia Bulldogs, respectively, to round out the top five.

The Iowa State Cyclones, Miami Hurricanes, LSU Tigers, Clemson Tigers and Kansas State Wildcats wrap up the teams in the top 10, respectively.

Coming up for the Gators

The Gators host the Kentucky Wildcats inside Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 19, for this year’s homecoming game. Kickoff is set for 7:45 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on the SEC Network.

Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

Where Florida’s opponents rank on Week 7 US LBM Coaches Poll

Seven of Florida’s opponents in 2024 are ranked inside the top 15 in the US LBM Coaches Poll following seven weeks of college football.

Florida might have earned a few votes with a win over Tennesee, but a 23-17 loss to the Volunteers has the Gators once again unranked in the US LBM Coaches Poll.

Florida being omitted from the poll isn’t a surprise, but let’s take a look at where UF’s opponents rank after seven weeks of play.

All three of Florida’s losses this year have come against top-15 teams — Miami remained at No. 6 while on bye, Tennesee dropped to one place to No. 10 and Texas A&M also stayed put at No. 14 during its bye week.

Florida’s three wins have all come against unranked teams — UCF lost a third-straight game and appears even further away from being ranked than Florida, Mississippi State might be the worst team in the SEC at 1-5 and Samford is an FCS team.

If the trend above continues, Florida will have time winning more than two games over the second half of the season.

Up next, the Gators face the unranked Kentucky Wildcats, who just lost to Vanderbilt. Then comes the team’s second bye and a gauntlet of ranked opponents. The Orange and Blue face No. 4 Georgia, No. 1 Texas, No. 8 LSU and No. 15 Ole Miss in consecutive weeks.

If the Gators can pull off one upset over that grueling month and beat Kentucky, closing out the season with unranked Florida State could lead to a bowl-game appearance.

Here’s a look at the complete Week 7 US LBM Coaches Poll.

Week 7 US LBM Coaches Poll

Ranking Team Record Points
1 Texas Longhorns 6-0 1,373 (53)
2 Oregon Ducks 6-0 1,322 (2)
3 Penn State Nittany Lions 6-0 1,220
4 Georgia Bulldogs 5-1 1,189
5 Ohio State Buckeyes 5-1 1,141
6 Miami Hurricanes 6-0 1,105
7 Alabama Crimson Tide 5-1 1,010
8 LSU Tigers 5-1 914
9 Clemson Tigers 5-1 904
10 Tennessee Vols 5-1 891
11 Notre Dame Fighting Irish 5-1 838
12 Iowa State Cyclones 6-0 823
13 BYU Cougars 6-0 686
14 Texas A&M Aggies 5-1 636
15 Ole Miss Rebels 5-2 524
16 Missouri Tigers 5-1 521
17 Kansas State Wildcats 5-1 472
18 Indiana Hoosiers 6-0 462
19 Boise State Broncos 5-1 373
20 Pittsburgh Panthers 6-0 340
21 Illinois Fighting Illini 5-1 231
22 Michigan Wolverines 4-2 223
23 SMU Mustangs 5-1 183
24 Army Knights 6-0 104
25 Nebraska Cornhuskers 5-1 90

Schools Dropped Out

No. 16 Oklahoma; No. 17 Utah;

Others Receiving Votes

Oklahoma 81; Arizona State 49; Navy 37; Utah 31; Vanderbilt 26; Syracuse 13; UNLV 12; Iowa 12; Texas Tech 9; Liberty 9; Washington State 8; Memphis 4; Louisville 4; James Madison 3; Tulane 2;

Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

Heartbreaking OT loss at Tennessee lands Florida on Misery Index

The overtime loss at Tennessee was a spectacular failure, earning Billy Napier a spot on this week’s Misery Index from USA TODAY Sports.

It was a game that the Florida Gators could have won, but once again — like seen many times over the past three seasons — coaching decisions seized defeat from the jaws of victory.

Alas, the Orange and Blue fell to the Tennessee Volunteers in Knoxville on Saturday, dropping the game in overtime, 23-17.

The special teams unit, which had been among the best in the nation coming into the weekend, was not in tip-top form but the playcalling deserves plenty of the blame. Of course, inopportune penalties once again sunk Florida’s ship at key moments in the matchup.

As a result, [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] and Co. find themselves on USA TODAY Sports’ Misery Index put together by Dan Wolken for the second time this fall. He had the following to offer on the Gators’ efforts in Week 7.

“There are a handful of coaching decisions Gators fans will nitpick from their 23-17 overtime loss to Tennessee, but let’s zero in on the last one,” Wolken begins.

“It came after Florida scored a touchdown with 29 seconds left, putting them in position to either tie the game or go for two and the potential victory in regulation,” he continues.

“Billy Napier, who needs some pretty dramatic improvement in the second half of the season to keep his job, at first sent the offense onto the field. But after a shift at the line of scrimmage that confused Tennessee, the Vols called timeout as you would expect them to do in that situation,” Wolken notes.

“But instead of sticking with his conviction, Napier came out of the timeout and sent the kicking unit out to tie the game — a bad idea that got worse after the Gators completely stalled out in overtime.

“Why in the world did Napier change his mind? He told reporters, ‘We just felt like let’s play overtime’ after Tennessee called time. Not exactly a profile in courage on Florida’s sideline.”

Coming up for the Gators

The Gators host the Kentucky Wildcats inside Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 19. Kickoff is set for 7:45 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on the SEC Network.

Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

USA TODAY Sports projects bowl matchup against new ACC team for LSU

The Tigers are heading to the Gator Bowl in these latest bowl projections.

After dropping their season-opener against USC, LSU has responded with four straight wins to keep their College Football Playoff hopes alive.

The margin for error will be pretty limited down the stretch, however, with remaining games against the likes of Ole Miss, Alabama and Texas A&M. In his latest college football bowl projections, USA TODAY Sports’ Erick Smith has the Tigers missing out on a CFP bid.

Instead, he sends coach Brian Kelly’s team to the Gator Bowl, where it would match up against an ACC team. He projects an interesting matchup against an SMU team that’s off to a 5-1 start in its first season as a member of the power conference ranks.

While it would be a fun game, it’s certainly not the goal for a Tigers team still searching for its first CFP bid under Kelly.

Contact/Follow us @LSUTigersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Louisiana State news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Tyler to continue the conversation on Twitter: @TylerNettuno

Florida football moves up 16 spots in USA TODAY Sports re-rank

The Gators got a hefty boost in USA TODAY Sports’ college football re-rank after their win over UCF.

Florida football scored an important victory over the UCF Knights inside Ben Hill Griffin Stadium last Saturday, giving the Gators their first winning record since before the LSU Tigers loss in Baton Rouge last year.

While the sibling school from Orlando is often an afterthought, this season’s edition of the Knights was cruising along until the Colorado Buffaloes handed them their first loss — at home, no less — and had a pair of votes in the US LBM Coaches Poll coming into Week 6.

That helped Florida a bit when it came time to re-rank the 134 FBS programs. Here is how things panned out this week.

Florida’s Week 6 re-rank position

USA TODAY Sports writer Paul Myerberg submitted his college football re-rank following the weekend’s action and lifted the Orange and Blue 16 spots to No. 53. That puts Billy Napier and Co. between the No. 52 Buffaloes and No. 54 Arizona Wildcats.

USA TODAY Sports Week 4 re-rank top 10

The Texas Longhorns remain in the top spot, followed by the Ohio State Buckeyes, Oregon Ducks, Penn State Nittany Lions and Georgia Bulldogs, respectively, to round out the top five.

The Miami Hurricanes, Iowa State Cyclones, Tennessee Volunteers, Alabama Crimson Tide and Clemson Tigers wrap up the teams in the top 10, respectively.

Next up for Florida

The Gators head to Knoxville next week to resume Southeastern Conference play against Tennessee. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. ET and the game will be broadcast on ESPN.

Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

Florida football among USA TODAY Sports ‘winners’ after beating UCF

The win was an important one for the Gators’ success on the gridiron this season, but it probably did not do much to save Billy Napier’s job in the longterm… yet.

The Florida Gators scored an important win in the Swamp during college football’s Week 6, outlasting the UCF Knights, 24-13, on Saturday night to improve to 3-2 overall.

While the victory over a fellow Sunshine State school was a feel-good moment for [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] and Co., it probably did little to change the head coach’s current trajectory out of Gainesville — but it may have helped cool the hot seat underneath him for a spell.

That topic was the focus of USA TODAY Sports writer Paul Myerberg’s entry in his winners and losers column on Sunday morning for the Orange and Blue, which he assigned to the former category after the triumph.

“Is beating Central Florida 24-13 the moment that Billy Napier saved his job and booked another season as Florida’s head coach? Let’s get serious,” Myerberg begins.

“Napier is headed toward the end of his tenure after three seasons and the Gators are probably still headed for another year short of the postseason. But let’s give some credit here: UCF had this game circled but never had a chance in what was easily the Gators’ best performance of the season,” he continues.

“Beating the Knights is good for business in general — losing to a program UF views as an in-state upstart would’ve been really tough to swallow — and is the team’s second win in a row heading into a brutal seven-game stretch that includes games against Tennessee, Georgia and Texas.”

Next up for Florida

The Gators head to Knoxville next week to resume Southeastern Conference play against the Vols. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. ET and the game will be broadcast on ESPN.

Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

Where Florida football stands in USA TODAY Sports Week 5 re-rank

The Gators moved up this week in USA TODAY Sports’ re-rank despite not playing last weekend.

The Florida Gators got a breather with a bye but most of their other college football peers were in action last weekend, with plenty of excitement on the gridiron stretching from coast to coast.

The biggest result in Week 5’s collegiate gridiron action was the Alabama Crimson Tide‘s home win over the Georgia Bulldogs, which came in dramatic fashion as SEC games are wont to. The 41-34 final score caused quite a bit of movement in the polls and rankings.

Among them is the USA TODAY Sports re-rank put together by Paul Myerberg, who submitted his ranking of all 134 FBS schools based on their performances through the first five weeks.

Florida’s Week 5 re-rank position

Myerberg moved the Gators up two spots to No. 69 in his re-rank despite not taking the field this weekend. Florida now sits between the No. 68 Georgia Southern Eagles and No. 70 San Jose State Spartans.

USA TODAY Sports Week 4 re-rank top 10

The Texas Longhorns now occupy the top spot in the rankings, followed by Alabama, the Ohio State Buckeyes, Tennessee Volunteers and Georgia, respectively, to round out the top five.

The Oregon Ducks came in sixth, while the Penn State Nittany Lions, Miami Hurricanes, Iowa State and Missouri Tigers, respectively, wrap up the top 10 programs in the re-rank.

Up next for the Gators

Florida hosts the UCF Knights on Saturday, Oct. 5 for a Week 6 tangle between two Sunshine State rivals, with kickoff slated for 7:45 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on the SEC Network.

Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.