Florida rises to No. 20 in AP poll; No. 22 in coaches’ poll

This week’s Associated Press poll has Florida sitting at No. 20, rising four spots from their previous position, while the newly released coaches’ poll finds the Gators up three places to No. 22 after their marvelous 26-20 win over Tennessee.

I missed posting one of these poll updates last weekend - because of that whole hurricane and such - but the Gators, while off, had slid one spot in the coaches’ poll from No. 24 to No. 25, and two places in the AP poll from No. 22 to No. 24.

Florida remains one of six SEC teams to make both polls. The Gators join Alabama, Georgia, Auburn, Mississippi State, and LSU in the rankings. The Crimson Tide retain the top spot in both polls, and both the Athens-based Bulldogs (No. 11 in AP; No. 12 in coaches’) and Tigers from The Plains (No. 15 in AP; No. 16 in coaches’) inch up slightly - which is surprising in Auburn's case considering their lackluster win over FCS Mercer.

Tennessee fell out of the rankings after being bested by Florida, and the Starkville-based Bulldogs shot up into the polls (No. 17 in AP; No. 19 in coaches’) for the first time this season after thrashing LSU at home. Speaking of the Bayou Bengals, the Tigers are still in the rankings (No. 25 in AP; No. 23 in coaches’), despite the aforementioned loss to Mississippi State, but they did take a double-digit tumble.

The top-five teams in the country remain Alabama, Clemson, Oklahoma, Penn State, and USC - in that order.

As of the present polling, the Gators are still scheduled to meet three more ranked teams this season. Florida, of course, started the season with No. 8 Michigan. The Volunteers were also ranked until yesterday’s defeat, and Florida still has yet to see Georgia, LSU, or No. 12/11 Florida State.

How do you feel about the Gators’ present placement in the polls? Do you think they are too high? Too low? Do any of the other rankings give you pause? Tell us in the comments!