Wins against Florida Atlantic and Campbell weren't expected to move the needle for the Florida Gators in the AP Top 25 poll and they didn't. But a road win over Auburn in the SEC opener? That got the voters' attention and the Gators were in at No. 21 after winning on the plains for the first time in 27 years.
This is the first time Florida has started 3-0 since 2019 and the first time the Gators have been ranked since the start of last season. They didn't earn that ranking and quickly proved not to be deserving of it. This one, however, the Gators have earned and will take it into next week's showdown with Ole Miss, who moved up to No. 4 in the poll.
Week 3 AP Top 25 Poll
1. Texas
2. Georgia
3. Notre Dame
4. Ole Miss
5. Indiana
6. Miami (FL)
7. Ohio State
8. Alabama
9. BYU
10. LSU
11. Texas Tech
12. USC
13. Penn State
14. Tennessee
15. Utah
16. Louisville
17. Iowa
18. Michigan
19. Missouri
20. Oregon
21. Florida
22. SMU
23. Texas A&M
24. Mississippi State
25. Houston
Florida is deserving of a spot in the AP Top 25, but others still have a lot to prove
If the polls hold as they currently are, the Gators have Top 25 matchups in four of the next five games and three of those teams (Texas, Georgia and Ole Miss) are ranked in the top four. That's some serious boss-level stuff right there. Ole Miss moving into the top five should have been expected after the win over LSU. And how good is LSU really? We're going to find out.
Speaking of not good, how is Texas A&M still ranked? They did not look competitive at all against Kentucky, but the Aggies remained ranked (ahead of the Wildcats, no less) going into this week's game against the Tigers. Oklahoma is also out of the Top 25 after a lackluster performance against a pretty decent New Mexico team. The Sooners offense, however, isn't Top 25-caliber or even Top-75 caliber and that alone takes them out of the poll.
Some teams were almost the victims of their pillow soft schedule, like USC, who had to go cross-country to play winless Rutgers and won a shootout. The Trojans gave up 35 points...to Rutgers. Penn State is climbing up the polls after a dominant stretch of games against the lowest possible G6 opponents.
We like to think that eventually these polls will right themselves, but there's no guarantee of that happening until it's too late. Still, none of this matters to the Gators, who will soon let everyone know if they have arrived through the gauntlet they will face in the next month.
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