Florida inches up to No. 21 in AP poll; slides down to No. 18 in coaches’ poll

Florida moved up one spot to No. 21 in the newly released AP poll and dropped down two spots to No. 18 in the latest USA Today coaches’ poll. The Gators were previously No. 22 in the AP poll and No. 16 in the coaches’ poll. Florida defeated South Carolina yesterday in their last home game of the season, keeping their SEC East title hopes alive.

Of course, the AP and coaches’ polls are not the ones that really matter now, as the College Football Playoff Committee has started releasing their own weekly rankings. Those come out on Tuesday evenings. The Gators checked in at No. 11 in the first edition of the committee’s rankings, but fell out after their loss to Arkansas.

Movement occurred in both polls this week due to the plethora of upsets in college football on Saturday. The three previously undefeated teams (Clemson, Michigan, and Washington) that were all ranked some version of No. 2, No. 3, and No. 4 in each poll, lost. In the SEC West, top-ten Auburn was upset by Georgia, and five-loss Ole Miss defeated top-ten Texas A&M.

The Gators still find themselves the only SEC East team currently in the rankings, though another Florida loss likely scrubs that division from the polls altogether. Elsewhere in the SEC, Alabama tightens its grip on the top spot in both polls. The Tide are now the only undefeated Power Five team. (The only other undefeated team? P.J. Fleck’s Western Michigan Broncos, who check in at No. 14 in the AP and No. 21 in the coaches’.) Auburn falls ten spots to No. 18 in the AP poll and eight spots to No. 16 in the coaches’ poll after being upset by Georgia. After losing to the Rebels, Texas A&M sunk 13 places to No. 23 in the AP poll and 11 places to No. 22 in the coaches’ poll. LSU rose three places to No. 16 in the AP poll and five places to No. 14 in the coaches’ poll after thoroughly dominating Arkansas.

Florida will end its regular season on the road against ranked foes. The Gators next travel to Baton Rouge, to face No. 16/14 LSU. Florida then finishes in Tallahassee with Florida State. The Seminoles moved up three spots in both polls; to No. 15 in the coaches’ poll and No. 17 in the AP poll, after winning big over Boston College on Friday night.