Florida finishes at No. 25 in final AP Poll of 2015 season

Florida checks in at No. 25 in the final AP Poll of the 2015 season, released late Monday night. The Gators fell six spots from No. 19 after a 41-7 beating at the hands of Michigan in the Citrus Bowl.

Still, it's Florida's first ranking in the final AP Poll of a season since 2012, and just their second of this decade. The Gators finished unranked in the final 2010, 2011, 2013, and 2014 AP Polls, after four seasons with no more than eight wins.

Despite 10 wins and an SEC East title, the Gators are far further removed from the pack than they're used to being. The lowest a Florida team to play in an SEC Championship Game had ever previously been ranked in a final AP Poll was No. 12, after a 9-4 1999 season that the Gators also finished with three consecutive losses to Florida State, Alabama (in an SEC title game), and a Big Ten team (Michigan State) in the Citrus Bowl.

Florida "rebounded" from that disappointing finish to win the SEC in 2000, and finished No. 10 in the AP Poll that year — the lowest ranking in a final AP Poll a 10-win Florida team had ever previously earned.