![Florida Eric Singleton (2) works out with the offense during the first day of Florida Spring football practice at Heavener Football Center in Gainesville, FL on Tuesday, March 3, 2026. [Alan Youngblood/Gainesville Sun]](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,x_0,y_0,w_2570,h_1445/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ReutersImages/mmsport/213/01m0g0qn8ddmgdpd55j2.jpg "Florida Eric Singleton (2) works out with the offense during the first day of Florida Spring football practice at Heavener Football Center in Gainesville, FL on Tuesday, March 3, 2026. [Alan Youngblood/Gainesville Sun]")
When the SEC preseason poll came out, the Gators were slotted in at No. 9 for the 2026 season. Combined with starting off the year unranked in both the AP poll and the Coaches poll, voters don’t have a high ceiling for Florida in 2026.
But when we dive into Florida’s actual schedule and cross-reference it with what the rest of the SEC has, there is a pathway for Florida to improve on its 9th-place prediction within the SEC.
Florida should finish top half of the SEC in 2026
We have covered Florida’s schedule at length, and there are tiers to it. There are the “big four” they have to play (Ole Miss, Texas, Georgia, and Oklahoma), where most would consider Florida an underdog. In contrast, the Gators should be considered favorites against their other five opponents (Auburn, Missouri, South Carolina, Kentucky, and Vanderbilt).
Simply being a favorite or an underdog doesn’t guarantee victory or defeat. Still, there is a feeling that Florida’s roster should be better than the “other five,” on par with Oklahoma and Ole Miss, and only clearly worse than Texas and Georgia.
Is it ridiculous to think Florida could go 6-3 in the SEC? We would argue it’s not that wild. Especially with Ole Miss and Oklahoma being at home, Florida should find a way past one of those two. The Auburn and Missouri games are wildcards since both are on the road, and it’s also not wild if Florida splits them.
So if we were being safe, we would project Florida to go 5-4, but where's the fun in that?
SEC Projected Standings
With that in mind, let’s project what we think the final standings will be:
Place | Team | SEC Record |
|---|---|---|
1 | Texas | 8-1 |
2 | Georgia | 8-1 |
3 | Texas A&M | 7-2 |
4 | Oklahoma | 7-2 |
5 | Tennessee | 7-2 |
6 | LSU | 7-2 |
7 | Florida | 6-3 |
8 | Alabama | 5-4 |
9 | Ole Miss | 4-5 |
10 | Missouri | 3-6 |
11 | Auburn | 3-6 |
12 | South Carolina | 2-7 |
13 | Kentucky | 2-7 |
14 | Arkansas | 1-8 |
15 | Mississippi State | 1-8 |
16 | Vanderbilt | 1-8 |
In this scenario, Georgia and Texas match up in the SEC Championship.
“Man, real original guys.”
In our first draft of results, we wanted to give LSU the edge to make the top two. We just have a feeling that LSU is going to lose a game it probably shouldn’t, such as on the road at Tennessee, which is going to knock them out of the top two, and then tiebreakers are going to knock them down even further.
Alabama at 5-4 and Ole Miss at 4-5 in SEC play are the two biggest swings we are taking this year. It would be classic modern-day Alabama to beat Georgia but lose to Kentucky. We have their games against Tennessee and Texas A&M as a toss-up, but we could see the Crimson Tide falling apart.
Likewise, we don’t trust Ole Miss. The roster had a ton of turnover from last year, and the wizard who made the magic isn’t there anymore.
The bottom of the pack shouldn’t be too controversial, as those teams fight for scraps. Notably, South Carolina goes 2-7, and Shane Beamer gets fired. Vanderbilt would be the one team that could outperform these expectations, and it wouldn't shock us too much.
The moral of all of this too is that there is some belief that Florida could go 9-3 and still sneak into the playoffs with their schedule. But if things play out like this and there is a logjam ahead of them, it's hard to envision any 9-3 team making the field of 12.
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