Florida football: Gators could sneak into the top 25 tonight

Tonight, the third edition of the College Football Playoff rankings will be released. While Florida football has been on the outside looking in for the last few weeks, they may sneak into the top 25 tonight.

The Gators are on a bit of a winning streak and have looked dominant over the last six quarters of ball. The defense hasn’t given up any points in the last game and a half, and the only points the Gators have surrendered at all came on a fake punt vs South Carolina.

The offense has also looked much more efficient since the UGA game. Anthony Richardson has turned a corner, and guys like Trevor Etienne are starting to step up and make game-changing plays, like Etienne’s 85-yard TD run last week.

Florida also got some help this past weekend as some teams ranked 20-25 lost and will likely drop out of the rankings. 24th-ranked Kentucky lost to Vanderbilt, which may help the Gators leapfrog the Wildcats even though Florida lost head-to-head against UK.

21st-ranked Illinois dropped their second straight game this week vs Purdue, after their loss to Michigan State the week before, just about eliminating them from top 25 contention.

The committee should also start to respect the Gators’ strength of schedule. Three of the Gators’ four losses were against the #1, #5, and #7 teams in the latest CFP rankings. They also have a win against #13 Utah.

There aren’t many four-loss teams with that kind of prestige in their loss column. I know this sounds like I’m grabbing for moral victories, but the committee has said before that it values strength of schedule. This mainly applies to teams near the top four, but should still have importance down in the 20s.

Given where the program was last season, and the disappointing losses we’ve suffered, getting into the top 25 this week would be a win for Napier and the Gators, and help propel them for the rest of the season.

Keep up with Florida football at Hail Florida Hail.