3 days ago
Who got it right? Evaluating Florida football's preseason rankings from Coaches, AP polls
The two major polls — the US LBM Coaches Poll and AP Top 25 — have both released their preseason college football rankings ahead of the upcoming 2025 campaign. In a story that is as old as the polls themselves, many are wondering which got their orders correct and which did not.
This year, the Florida Gators find themselves included among both top 25 rankings, coming in at No. 17 per the Coaches Poll and No. 15 per the Associated Press. So who got it right?
USA TODAY Sports writer Blake Toppelmeyer attempted to tackle that query in his college football preseason poll ranking errors column, in which he evaluated the eight biggest mistakes among the top-ranked teams. In his opinion, it was the coaches who were closer to the pin — but neither really satisfied his outlook heading into fall.
"Both poll services overrated the Gators, but the coaches came closer to the mark," Toppmeyer reveals.
"Florida ended last season playing well. DJ Lagway is one of the nation's most promising quarterbacks, but he rehabbed injuries throughout the offseason, and after an underwhelming transfer haul, I question whether Lagway enjoys enough support on either side of the ball to justify these rankings in the face of a daunting schedule."
Billy Napier and Co. were joined by fellow SEC schools, the Tennessee Volunteers, Ole Miss Rebels, Oklahoma Sooners and Texas A&M Aggies, as well as the Clemson Tigers, Kansas State Wildcats and BYU Cougars, on the list of teams that were misranked by at least one of the polls.
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