Florida will open the college football season Saturday against Miami in Orlando ranked No. 8 in The Associated Press preseason Top 25 college football poll released Monday.
The Gators, coming off a 10-3 record in head coach Dan Mullen’s first season, finished No. 7 last year in the AP poll.
Florida was also ranked No. 8 in the Amway’s Coaches Poll released earlier this month. College Football Playoff Selection Committee rankings come out Nov. 5.
It’s the first time the Gators open inside the Top 10 since the 2013 season when they were ranked 10th in the AP and Coaches Poll. Meanwhile, eighth is the highest the Gators have ranked in any preseason poll since 2010.
Miami is in the receiving-votes category. UCF is No. 17. FSU did not receive votes.
The Top 25 teams in The Associated Press preseason college football poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, 2018 records, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote, and 2018 final ranking:
| Record | Pts | Prv | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Clemson (52) | 15-0 | 1540 | 1 |
| 2. Alabama (10) | 14-1 | 1496 | 2 |
| 3. Georgia | 11-3 | 1403 | 7 |
| 4. Oklahoma | 12-2 | 1331 | 4 |
| 5. Ohio St. | 13-1 | 1261 | 3 |
| 6. LSU | 10-3 | 1199 | 6 |
| 7. Michigan | 10-3 | 1164 | 14 |
| 8. Florida | 10-3 | 1054 | 7 |
| 9. Notre Dame | 12-1 | 1044 | 5 |
| 10. Texas | 10-4 | 1005 | 9 |
| 11. Oregon | 9-4 | 860 | – |
| 12. Texas A&M | 9-4 | 852 | 16 |
| 13. Washington | 10-4 | 786 | 13 |
| 14. Utah | 9-5 | 772 | – |
| 15. Penn St. | 9-4 | 651 | 17 |
| 16. Auburn | 8-5 | 578 | – |
| 17. UCF | 12-1 | 410 | 11 |
| 18. Michigan St. | 7-6 | 377 | – |
| 19. Wisconsin | 8-5 | 370 | – |
| 20. Iowa | 9-4 | 330 | 25 |
| 21. Iowa St. | 8-5 | 302 | – |
| 22. Syracuse | 10-3 | 209 | 15 |
| 23. Washington St. | 11-2 | 200 | 10 |
| 24. Nebraska | 4-8 | 154 | – |
| 25. Stanford | 9-4 | 141 | – |
Others receiving votes: Missouri 117, Army 94, Mississippi St. 87, Miami 70, Northwestern 63, TCU 57, Virginia 44, Boise St. 38, Cincinnati 16, South Carolina 15, Virginia Tech 12, Fresno St. 8, Utah St. 8, Minnesota 7, Memphis 6, Appalachian St. 5, UAB 3, West Virginia 3, Oklahoma St. 3, Arizona St. 3, Arizona 1, Southern Cal 1.
“FSU did not receive votes.” 🙂
They will open the season at home vs Boise State and will lose. And depending on how messed up their locker room, if Taggert hasn’t fixed some things, that loss will bleed right into the next game, making LA Monroe a trap game. We will be hearing the crickets chirping in Talley by mid season.
And lo and behold, it was the very same ULM that did Bama in under very similar circumstances a few years ago. Would that lightening strike twice! Ojala Que!
That is reason for a smile, David. Also, there must be a lot of AP love for Scott Frost to squeeze a 4-8 team into the top 25.
Joe good point. If he can turn them into what he did a UCF in a power 5 they will be challenging the upper echelons of the Big 10 for second fiddle in the CFP. There was a ESPN story that says two power 5 conferences may be left out of the CFP. PAC12 and (BIG12 or BIG10) now those would be some betting odds as to which if wither is left out.
Agree about Frost, 65. I don’t think ESPN is going too far out on a limb, since that has happened in each of the last two seasons with the PAC 12 and BIG 10 being shut out both times. I’d think the BIG 12 would be the favorite to join the PAC 12 to be on the outside looking in if it happens again this season.
Are they still sporting those “State Championship” ring?
Oh my goodness it’s finally college football week. Been waiting since the Michigan game. I love this team. My only concern is the O line. Other than that, I believe we’re going to be hard to beat. What is this, FSU didn’t any votes 😁. How times has changed.
My concern is the the defensive backs, specifically any injuries they may incur. We are so thin depth-wise and can’t afford any.
I wonder what the actual scholarship count is at now? After all the defections it would seem we are down to around 75. If that’s the case, we sure dont need any more season ending injuries. We should be fine barring that, and hopefully a full class of 25 for 2020 will get our numbers back close to 85.
Yeah, Sparky….good question. Now, being one to never pass an opportunity to make ice cream out of horse dookey, except for when I do, and having said in the past that 2020 (put differently, Year 3) or 2021 (Year 4) will be the year of the Gator…..those 85 scholarships, perhaps all Dan Mullen’s men, might just be the ticket. What do you think?
I am comfortable with where we are ranked. Doesn’t really matter after playing starts as we have to then prove it where it counts. FSU was starting to derail before Jimbo left and has now escalated into a dumpster fire of epic proportion.
Miami for whatever reason has a knack for being a thorn in our as- when we rank higher. Can’t wait for Saturday. CDM has to vanquish our foes and put fear in the hearts of those that dare to challenge the Gators.
https://www.timeanddate.com/countdown/generic?iso=20190824T00&p0=3287&font=cursive
Looks like the national media is composed entirely of spoiled Gator fans. How else to explain their “unrealistic” expectations for this team? Go Gators!!!!! To unrealistic expectations and beyond!!!!!!!!
Some sports Brett McMurphy Stadium College Football Insider picked us to fall out of the top 25 come year end. Thinks we’re not up to the task. We’ll prove him wrong.
I read that crap too, 65. We’ll see about that is right.
Just some desperate clown trying to get attention. I get it. One way to try and make a name is to go against the grain and hope you get lucky. If his prediction comes true– it won’t– he looks like a genius and gets to crow. If it doesn’t, no one will remember his wacko rantings come season’s end.
The preseason polls obviously amount to little more than conjecture (Wolverines rated higher that the Gators?). We’ll start finding out who actually belongs in the top ten after real-time football starts Saturday. Meanwhile, as the nerves build up every day this week, it’s comforting knowing that when assembling his staff Coach Mullen brought on Coach Hevesy as OL coach with the talent to straighten out the confusion left behind by Davis, et aL It was a relief to all Gator fans when, after a few hick ups in early games, the OL started playing at a higher level in a relatively short time, peaking during the last four games–ending the season by eating the Wolverines’ lunch. Having quality coaching will be huge this season with freshmen as part of the mix. It’s a huge challenge for those youngsters to be able to learn to communicate and to mesh as a unit–with everybody doing their jobs. As several posters on here have rightly pointed out, the youngsters have been practicing against one of CFL’s better DLs and know what’s coming. Couple that with what the coaches have been saying about seeing strong leadership on the offense, then there’s reason for optimism that the OL will continue their latest trend of quality play and they will show that their top-ten ranking is for real! Cant wait! Go Gators!
Great post Prairie!
Can’t for the life of me figure out how the AP voters can vote Michigan ahead of Florida, especially after that curb stomping, beat down the Gators put on them. That’s a headscratcher…
I’d comment on why, BR, but mentioning the P word might get me black balled for life! I’ll just say that you’re not the only one scratching his head, buddy.
Come on guys you remember Jim H was supposed to be the end all be all to coaching when he went to Michigan. He did beat Mac but so did almost everyone else.