As the dust is starting to settle on Florida hiring Jon Sumrall, we here at Hail Florida Hail are still going to have our reservations until we see his plan in action. But, to Sumrall's credit, he has taken the skepticism of the Gator fanbase and been willing to attack it head-on.
In addition to a persona that could fire up any fanbase, there is a pathway Florida fans can make themselves believe 2026 will be the year the Gators climb back into the top 15 and beyond.
But even if one doesn't think being a playoff contender in 2026 is in the cards for Florida, there is no mistaking that the Gators are in better shape than these six other notable Power Four programs heading into 2026.
FSU
It is not a great look for Mike Norvell to have been blown out in back-to-back years by the Gators against a coaching staff that will go down as one of the worst in Florida history.
But after getting slapped around on Saturday to miss out on a bowl game for the 4th time in six seasons under Norvell, FSU fans are not in a great place.
And the problem for FSU is that they litteraly can't afford to fire Norvell after the massive extension he got after the 2023 season.
Wisconsin
The Badgers are one of those programs that would have been a mainstay in the playoffs during the 2000s and 2010s had the playoffs been expanded at the time.
And yet they are also stuck with a coach they hate but refuse to get rid of.
Luke Fickell has been given one more year to turn the ship around in Madison, but as Gator fans can tell from experience, that "one more year" seldom pans out.
Ole Miss
Ole Miss is about to make the playoffs for the first time in program history and is about to finish in the top 15 for the fourth time in the last five years, which hasn't happened in Oxford since the 60s.
And while Florida may have missed out on Lane Kiffin, you know who else isn't going to have Kiffin next year?
The entire point of the Lane Kiffin Sweepstakes is that Kiffin made Ole Miss, not the other way around. And if history is any guide, the Rebels will be coming back to Earth in the very near future.
Penn State
Unless Penn State pulls off Kalen DeBoer or Lincoln Riley, there is litteraly nobody left to come and coach Penn State, as they have seemingly whiffed on everyone they have tried to go after.
And even if they find a respectable coach for 2026, they will have almost zero incoming freshmen to work with as Penn State signed litteraly two commits in their class of 2026.
Two.
UCF
It's almost like every around the country tried to warn UCF that life in the Power Four requires showing up 12 games a year, not just one or two. But our friends in Orlando didn't want to listen, and they are learning the hard way that UCF isn't the powerhouse they think it is.
UCF has had a losing record all three years they have been in the Big 12, just finished with the 82nd-ranked recruiting class, and their chief rival down I-4 just landed one of the best coordinators in the country as their head coach.
Arkansas
Like Florida, Arkansas fired its coach this season. And like Florida, Arkansas went to the American Conference to find its new coach.
But while we have our doubts about Sumrall, he is a massive improvement over the new Arkansas coach, Ryan Silverfield.
During his time at Memphis, Silverfield had a couple of decent seasons, but he never won the conference, and was starting to be on the hot seat at Memphis.