Florida ranked No. 16 in preseason coaches’ poll

The 2017 football season will be here before you know it, and another harbinger of that impending season occurred today when the preseason rankings for the Amway Coaches’ Poll were released. (The AP preseason top-25 is scheduled to be released later this month, on August 21.)

The Florida Gators appear at No. 16 in these initial rankings. Last season, Florida began the year ranked No. 25 in the coaches’ poll, and ended the season ranked No. 13 in the same. 2016 was the first time in three years that the Gators had appeared in the preseason poll, and Florida finds itself comfortably back there after winning the SEC East in back-to-back seasons, and finishing 2016 with a 9-4 record and an Outback Bowl victory.

Florida is one of six SEC teams to make the top-25. The Gators’ SEC poll-brethren are Alabama (1), LSU (12), Auburn (13), Georgia (15), and Tennessee (24). The Crimson Tide are sitting in a familiar spot atop the rankings, and are followed in the top-five by Ohio State, Florida State, USC, and defending national champion Clemson.

As of the present polling, the Gators are scheduled to meet five ranked teams this season. Besides the aforementioned Tigers, Bulldogs, and Volunteers, the Gators will also face the third-ranked Seminoles and open with No. 9 Michigan.

How do you feel about the Gators’ No. 16 ranking? Is it too low? Too high? Any of the other team rankings sticking in your craw? I personally think Florida’s spot is just fine (but I also admittedly don’t think much of these polls in general).