GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida's thumping of Long Island in the season opener and some shuffling at the top of the poll helped the Gators move up two spots in
this week's AP Top 25, released Tuesday afternoon.
Florida (1-0) checked in at No. 13, the program's highest-ranking in the AP Top 25 since head coach
Billy Napier's second game at UF. The Gators enter Saturday's home game against USF (1-0) ranked higher than any point in Napier's four seasons other than when they went from unranked to No. 12 in 2022 after upsetting No. 7-ranked Utah in Napier's UF debut.
The stay was short-lived, though, as Florida lost the following week to Kentucky in the SEC opener at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. After a 31-28 win over USF in the last matchup between the two schools, Florida lost to Tennessee on the road the following week to fall out of the poll for the rest of the season.
The Gators would like to keep climbing with the Bulls visiting a sold-out Swamp after knocking off then-No. 25 Boise State in their season opener. Florida is ranked 15th in the
US LBM Coaches Poll.
"We're gonna need to be at our best,'' Napier said Monday. "It's great that we sold out, that's 14 in a row, and this game will be at 4:15, and the elements will be part of the game, so it's important that we have the right mindset, an attitude towards playing at that time of the day. We're off to a good start with the players ... a lot of guys in the building, and I expect us to get better."
Meanwhile, Ohio State moved into the No. 1 spot in this week's poll after knocking off preseason No. 1 Texas last weekend. With No. 1 Texas, No. 4 Clemson, No. 6 Notre Dame and No. 8 Alabama all losing, it marked the first time in the AP poll era (since 1936) that four top-10 teams lost on opening weekend.
Ten SEC schools are ranked in this week's poll, with the Gators ahead of Alabama in the AP Top 25 for only the second season since 2009. The last time Florida took the field ranked above the Crimson Tide head-to-head was in the 2009 SEC Championship Game when the Gators entered No. 1 and Alabama No. 2. The Crimson Tide won, 32-13, launching a dominant run under former head coach Nick Saban. A decade later, after the Gators spent the regular season ranked behind Alabama in 2019, they finished ranked sixth after a victory over Virginia in the Orange Bowl. Alabama finished eighth after beating Michigan in the Citrus Bowl.
Alabama, which opened at No. 8 in head coach Kalen DeBoer's second season, dropped to 21st after its 34-17 loss at Florida State.
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