The Florida Gators are officially starting the 2026-27 season where many expected them to land: No. 1 in the Associated Press preseason Top 25.
Released Monday, the AP poll put Florida at the top of the nation’s first rankings, with Duke at No. 2, Illinois at No.
3, UConn at No. 4 and Arizona at No. 5.
It’s only the second time in program history that the Gators will open a season as the country’s top-ranked team, matching the 2006-07 group that began as No. 1 and went on to win back-to-back championships.
Florida is coming off a brutal ending to last season, one that saw the Gators fall to Iowa in the NCAA Tournament Round of 32. So instead of spending this year chasing the burden of a title defense, they’re trying to win a second national championship in three seasons.
Todd Golden said that shift matters.
“I don't feel as stressed going into the season. I feel like last year, you know, kind of carrying the torch of the national championship into the season was a lot,” he said last month as the Gators opened preseason camp. “… we're not as worried about it this year. So I think we'll collectively, myself included, be more prepared and better ready to handle that earlier in the year."
The biggest reason Florida is sitting atop the poll is simple: the roster is loaded and much of it is back. Thomas Haugh, Alex Condon and Rueben Chinyelu return in the front court, while Boogie Fland is expected to take another step in his second season with the program. Haugh was recently named the SEC Preseason Player of the Year.
Denzel Aberdeen is back too, after spending a year at Kentucky and regaining his fifth year of eligibility.
Golden said that continuity has put the Gators ahead of schedule.
“We have a good foundation built,” Golden said. “And, a lot of the time, your summer and fall are trying to get everything in and get everybody on the same page, and we're advanced that way. We feel like we're ahead and we're able to do some different things at this point in the year that we haven't been able to do and focus on the court.”
Even with the talent and the No. 1 ranking, Florida’s path won’t be a soft one. The Gators are scheduled to play eight ranked teams, including No.
2 Duke, No. 7 Texas twice and No.
8 Tennessee. Depending on how things shake out in the Players 8 Tournament in Las Vegas, Florida could also run into No.
10 Houston and No. 17 Kansas.
The season begins Nov. 2 in Tampa against No. 14 Miami.
Florida’s rise in the rankings comes with another layer of attention after Sunday’s exhibition loss to Baylor in Jacksonville, when the Gators hit just 4 of 29 shots from behind the arc.
“I'm pretty grateful it's not November 2nd right now, I'll tell you that,” Golden said after the game. “There's a reason why you play these exhibitions - get an opportunity to try to figure some things out, learn from your mistakes, learn from what you do well.”
Before that opener against Miami, Florida will host Stetson on Oct. 27 in its final exhibition of the preseason.
In Other News...
Tramell Jones Jr. Just Gave Florida A Reason To Believe
A freshman making his first career start is rarely asked to steady a program against a top-10 opponent, but Tramell Jones Jr. walked into that kind of assignment and gave Florida exactly the kind of calm it needed. The Gators rallied from a 17-3 deficit to beat seventh-ranked Texas 27-24, and Jones played a central role in getting them back into it, completing 22 of 35 passes for 155 yards and two touchdowns.
For Florida, the win was about more than surviving an early hole. It was about seeing a young quarterback handle pressure, keep the offense moving and give the Gators a chance when the game tightened late. The defense finished the job with a late fumble by Texas quarterback Arch Manning, but the bigger takeaway in Gainesville is hard to miss: there is at least a reason to believe Florida has found something it can build on. [Read more 🡒]
Florida Suddenly Has A Bigger Opportunity Than Anyone Expected
Floridas win over Texas came at exactly the right time, giving Billy Napiers team a needed jolt after a season that has already swung from a 4-0 start to back-to-back losses. The bigger picture around college football has been just as unpredictable, with results across several conferences reshuffling expectations almost every week, and Florida has managed to keep itself in the conversation despite the early turbulence.
With the bye week now in hand, the Gators are in a better spot than many projected before the season, both in the SEC race and in the overall record chase. The Texas victory did more than settle things down for a day, too, because it left Floridas preseason goals still within reach as the schedule moves into its next stretch. [Read more 🡒]
BYU Just Turned The Big 12 Race Into Something Much Bigger
A wild Saturday across college football sent shockwaves through the AP poll, and BYU was one of the biggest beneficiaries after upsetting Notre Dame to climb to No. 2. The chaos was unprecedented, with five of the top seven teams losing on the same day for the first time in AP history, and Miami surged to No. 1 after its double-overtime win against Florida State.
For Florida fans, the broader picture is just as striking because the Gators were part of a day that helped redraw the national conversation in a hurry. Ohio State held off Indiana, Tennessee beat Alabama, Florida knocked off Texas, and Auburn beat Georgia, turning what could have been a routine Saturday into a rankings reset that left the Big 12 race and the rest of the playoff picture looking far more volatile than before. [Read more 🡒]