After falling just short of the AP Top 25 rankings at the beginning of the college football season and narrowly missing the polls ever since, Florida has entered the poll at No. 21. The Gators cracked the poll following their first 3-0 start to a season since 2019.
This marks Florida’s first time back in the poll since it dropped out of the 2025 Week 3 rankings after falling to South Florida, 18-16. The Gators fell off the list from the No. 13 spot after the upset.
Florida started its season strong with a 66-21 win over Florida Atlantic on Sept. 5 and then defeated Campbell 52-3 on Sept. 12. Then, on Saturday, UF defeated SEC rival Auburn 44-39 at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
Jon Sumrall is no stranger to the poll as a head coach. His Tulane team ranked as high as No. 18 in both 2024 and 2025, and his Troy Trojans finished the 2022 season ranked No. 19.
The SEC has a conference-high 10 teams ranked, with UF being the eighth-highest ranked program in the 16-team league (No. 1 Texas, No. 2 Georgia, No. 4 Ole Miss, No. 8 Alabama, No. 10 LSU, No. 14 Tennessee, No. 19 Missouri, Florida, No. 23 Texas A&M, No. 24 Mississippi State).
“The thing ... for our football team, to me, is just be where our feet are,” Sumrall said Sept. 6. “Everybody in our league is really good. I mean, every time you strap it up in the SEC, you know what you're gonna get."
Florida faces No. 4 Ole Miss (3-0) next on Saturday at 7 p.m. ET at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
Contact Ava DiCecca at adicecca@alligator.org. Follow her on X at @avadicecca24.
Contact Max Bernstein at mbernstein@alligator.org. Follow him on X at @maxbernstein23.
Ava DiCecca is a senior sports and media journalism student and a Fall 2026 sports editor and football beat reporter. Now in her fifth semester with The Alligator, she previously served as the Summer 2026 assistant sports editor, Spring 2026 sports editor, Gators volleyball beat reporter and an enterprise writer. In her free time, she watches Boston sports (Brad Marchand we still love you).
Max Bernstein is a fourth-year sports and media journalism major and sports management minor. This Fall, he is a Sports Editor and a Florida Gators and Jacksonville Jaguars reporter at The Alligator. Now in his ninth semester with The Alligator, Max previously served in roles including Digital Managing Editor, Sports Editor, Assistant Sports Editor and Football Reporter. He has also made appearances on the Paul Finebaum Show. In the rare moments Max isn't working, he's usually with his girlfriend Reese, watching sports with his fraternity brothers or missing his family and his two cats.
