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Florida football: Has this been the most entertaining September in UF history?

By Will Thomas

GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA - SEPTEMBER 17: Anthony Richardson #15 of the Florida Gators looks on during the 2nd quarter of a game against the South Florida Bulls at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on September 17, 2022 in Gainesville, Florida. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)
GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA - SEPTEMBER 17: Anthony Richardson #15 of the Florida Gators looks on during the 2nd quarter of a game against the South Florida Bulls at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on September 17, 2022 in Gainesville, Florida. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images) /
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The first month of Billy Napier’s tenure has been one to remember for Florida football fans. Whether you think that’s a good or a bad thing is up to you.

It’s hard not to have a wild first month when you get 3 top ten teams in 4 weeks, including the season opener.

We’ve also gone from Anthony Richardson being a Heisman finalist, to the worst QB in the SEC, and now back to one of the better QBs in the SEC.

Hopefully, most of the overreactions are out of our system, and we as fans can settle into the season.

But before we move on to the final 2/3 of the season, it’s worth going back to these first four weeks.

Florida football: The Gators could be a fringe top 5 team

This sounds psychotic, but just hear me out.

We’re two plays away from being 4-0. If AR and Wright communicate that pick six well against Kentucky, and the Gators have yet another miracle finish against Tennessee, the Gators would have an unblemished record going into October.

After being ranked 12th after their Utah win, beating the Wildcats would have the Gators around 9-10. USF is USF, but then a win at the 11th-ranked Vols could shoot the Gators up the rankings.

5-10 in the AP poll is currently No. 5 Clemson, N0. 6 USC, No. 7 Tennessee, No. 8 Kentucky, No. 9 Okie St, and No. 10 NC State.

If they were 4-0, UF is obviously ahead of NC St, Okie St, Tenn, and UK. There is also a strong case to put the Gators ahead of USC and Clemson given their strength of schedule.

Obviously, this is all me hypothesizing, but that would put the Gators at No. 5 in the country. It doesn’t feel like we’re only two plays away from that right now.

Florida football: We could also be 0-4

As fun as the 4-0 fantasy is, we also have to face the reality that 0-4 might actually be even more realistic.

If Cam Rising finds his guy in the endzone on their final drive, Utah is still a playoff hopeful.

If USF makes their field goal late in The Swamp, who knows what happens in overtime?

I don’t even want to know what the UF fans on Twitter would be like if the Gators were 0-4 right now.

There would already be a massive movement to fire Napier, to bench AR, and a petition to tear down The Swamp. It’s good for the safety of the entire country that UF isn’t winless.

An 0-4 Gators team would go the rest of the year unranked. It’s hard to imagine that wouldn’t affect recruiting, and the boosters would be wary of the program’s overall health given where it was when Napier inherited it.

College football is a crazy, stupid, awesome, dumb, sport. It’s also the best sport in the world because we get to sit back after this crazy month of football and think about what could’ve been.

Keep up with Florida football at Hail Florida Hail.

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