Florida quarterback Luke Del Rio, in his first career start, passed for 256 yards in Saturday's 24-7 win over UMass. (Photo: Jay Metz/For UAA Communications)
Gators Fall Out of AP Top 25, Remain at No. 25 in Amway Coaches Poll
Tuesday, September 6, 2016 | Football, Scott Carter
Florida, No. 25 in both preseason polls, opened the season with a 24-7 win over UMass.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Florida's season-opening 24-7 victory over UMass impressed coaches more than writers.
At least based on the two major national polls released Tuesday. The Gators opened the season ranked No. 25 in both the Associated Press Top 25 (writers) and the USA Today/Amway Coaches Poll.
While the Gators remained No. 25 in the Amway/Coaches Poll, Florida dropped from the AP Top 25 despite winning its 27th consecutive season opener, the longest active streak in the country.
The Gators never trailed UMass but led only 10-7 at halftime and didn't put the Minutemen away until the fourth quarter.
The Gators returned to practice Monday with an eye toward improvement with their Southeastern Conference opener on tap Saturday at home against Kentucky.
Senior linebacker Jarrad Davis wasn't thrilled with the way Florida's defense played against UMass, but eight pentalites for 80 yards didn't help, including three personal foul penalties on the defense (one by Davis for roughing the passer).
"You think about if we don't have those penalties in that drive, we put up, you know, a goose egg on the scoreboard,'' Davis said. "We let them drive down the field. We kept pushing them. We kept inviting them to keep going down the field with those penalties. If we stopped them right there, you never know. We were getting in our groove and then we kind of got out of our element when we got all those penalties. So we gave up seven points. So just being tighter on our technique, and we'll be alright."
Alabama remained No. 1 in the AP Top 25, followed by Clemson, Florida State, Ohio State and Michigan. No. 6 Houston moved up nine spots after knocking off Oklahoma on a spectacular opening weekend that featured several high-profile games.
While Miami moved into the AP Top 25, the Gators don't have much ground to make up to return to the poll if they beat Kentucky. Florida is at No. 26 with 117 points, 20 behind the Hurricanes.
At least based on the two major national polls released Tuesday. The Gators opened the season ranked No. 25 in both the Associated Press Top 25 (writers) and the USA Today/Amway Coaches Poll.
While the Gators remained No. 25 in the Amway/Coaches Poll, Florida dropped from the AP Top 25 despite winning its 27th consecutive season opener, the longest active streak in the country.
The Gators never trailed UMass but led only 10-7 at halftime and didn't put the Minutemen away until the fourth quarter.
The Gators returned to practice Monday with an eye toward improvement with their Southeastern Conference opener on tap Saturday at home against Kentucky.
Senior linebacker Jarrad Davis wasn't thrilled with the way Florida's defense played against UMass, but eight pentalites for 80 yards didn't help, including three personal foul penalties on the defense (one by Davis for roughing the passer).
"You think about if we don't have those penalties in that drive, we put up, you know, a goose egg on the scoreboard,'' Davis said. "We let them drive down the field. We kept pushing them. We kept inviting them to keep going down the field with those penalties. If we stopped them right there, you never know. We were getting in our groove and then we kind of got out of our element when we got all those penalties. So we gave up seven points. So just being tighter on our technique, and we'll be alright."
Alabama remained No. 1 in the AP Top 25, followed by Clemson, Florida State, Ohio State and Michigan. No. 6 Houston moved up nine spots after knocking off Oklahoma on a spectacular opening weekend that featured several high-profile games.
While Miami moved into the AP Top 25, the Gators don't have much ground to make up to return to the poll if they beat Kentucky. Florida is at No. 26 with 117 points, 20 behind the Hurricanes.
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