For the second time this year, Florida dropped in the AP Top 25 Poll after a win.
The first time it happened was in the first poll of the regular season, which came two weeks after UF’s 24-20 win in Orlando over Miami. The Gators slid from No. 8 to No. 11 despite beating a Hurricanes team that received votes to be in the top 25 on a neutral field. This past week, Florida fell one spot from No. 9 to No. 10 after soundly beating Towson 38-0.
“Everybody seems to kind of treat us like we’re really not a top-10 team even though we are,” kicker Evan McPherson said.
UF could solidify its place in the top 10, or slide out of the rankings entirely in the next few weeks. It all starts with a top-10 bout with No. 7 Auburn at home Saturday at 3:30 p.m.
In their first game this season as an underdog, the Gators still feel like they're the favorite.
“A lot of people think that we haven’t played anybody, every week our ranking goes up and down, they don’t think we’re capable to be a top-10 team,” defensive back Trey Dean said. “So we’re just going to have to show them.”
Dean went as far as to say this game has College Football Playoff implications, and he could be right.
It’s crowded at the top, especially in the SEC, which is home to five teams ranked in the top 10. Florida will play three of the other four teams in the next four weeks, in addition to Auburn, including No. 5 LSU and No. 3 Georgia.
Defensive lineman Kyree Campbell expressed his ambivalence for the Gators’ movement in the polls.
“They dropped us, oh well,” he said. “They don’t respect us, oh well.”
Pollsters will have no choice but to respect UF if it performs in this brutal stretch. According to ESPN’s Football Power Index, the Gators have the hardest remaining schedule in the nation. Conversely, UF has played the 59th-hardest schedule in the country to date, according to ESPN’s CFP picture. Florida’s defense is also back to full health for the first time since UT Martin. Cornerback C.J. Henderson and defensive end Jabari Zuniga are both expected to return this weekend.
The Tigers, on the other hand, have played the seventh-hardest. Both teams are in the top 10 in strength of schedule, though.
Auburn presents a series of unique challenges Florida hasn’t seen all season.
The Tigers already have two top-25 wins on their resume. They also possess a dynamic offense (ranked in the top 25 in scoring offense and rushing offense) and stingy defense (top 25 in scoring defense and rushing defense).
There’s no better place for the Gators to prove themselves — right or wrong — than this weekend against Auburn with the spotlight of College GameDay and a raucous crowd in the Swamp.
Follow Kyle Wood on Twitter @Kkylewood. Contact him at kwood@alligator.org.
DB Trey Dean (21) said the team isn't paying attention to critics who say it isn't top-10 caliber.
