If Florida Makes the CFP, Here's How Straight Seeding Affects Them

As the offseason for Florida Football rolls along, we don't have much else to do between now and August but to dream. After all, what fun is the offseason if one can't dream?

We here at Hail Florida Hail have stated that the ceiling for the Gators in 2025 is to go 10-2 and make the playoffs. While we also think the floor for this team could be 7-5 or worse, we are going to keep happy thoughts for this scenario.

One national pundit who has been extremely high on the Gators laid out his vision for the playoffs and how the seeding system this year could impact everyone.

Florida Gators could make the playoffs in 2025

We've noted before how Andy Staples of On3 has been on the Florida bandwagon this offseason. The continued hope of DJ Lagway turning into a Heisman candidate has people believing Florida could be a contender this year.

Staples has previously ranked Florida 9th in his own personal preseason rankings, and today, he highlighted what that could look like in the new look playoffs for 2025.

The new model is doing a straight seeding of 1-12, with the top five ranked conference champs getting automatic bids, but unlike last year, they are not guaranteed a top-four seed and a bye just because they won their conference.

So for Florida, who he has ranked 9th, this would slot them into a potential matchup on the road with No. 8 Oregon. If last year's system was still in place, Texas Tech would leapfrog to the No. 4 seed, pushing everyone back one spot, and Florida would play Alabama.

Again, this is all preseason hypothetical, but it also highlights how close Florida might come to hosting a first-round playoff game if they go 10-2. Tennessee was 10-2 last year and ranked 7th, but because Boise State and Arizona State received automatic top-four seeds, the Vols were bumped back to 9th in seeding and were forced to play on the road.