Florida will start the 2026 season outside the AP Top 25, but the Gators did at least land close to the cut line when the Associated Press released its preseason poll on Monday.
Florida picked up 51 votes, second only among teams left unranked behind Clemson’s 112. That keeps the Gators on the outside looking in as the season opens.
The preseason result also extends Florida’s run of beginning the year unranked. The program’s last ranking came at No. 13 after its season-opening win over Long Island. Florida then fell out of the poll and still received votes after the next week’s 18-16 loss to South Florida, the first of eight defeats that season.
Another streak continues, too: Florida has not opened consecutive seasons ranked in the preseason AP poll since 2019-21.
The Gators’ 2026 slate gives them plenty of chances to climb back in. Florida will face five AP preseason-ranked opponents, starting with a home game against No.
9 Ole Miss on Sept. 26.
The next week brings a road trip to No. 25 Missouri.
The toughest stretch comes in October and early November, when Florida will line up against three straight preseason-ranked teams: No. 20 Texas on the road Oct.
17, No. 3 Georgia at a neutral site Oct. 31, and No.
10 Oklahoma at home Nov. 7.
That game against the Sooners will also be the day Florida inducts former head coach Urban Meyer into the program’s Ring of Honor.
Florida’s schedule also includes six opponents that were unranked in the preseason poll: FAU on Sept. 5, Auburn on Sept.
19, South Carolina on Oct. 10, Kentucky on Nov. 14 on the road, Vanderbilt on Nov. 21, and Florida State on Nov. 27 on the road.
Campbell on Sept. 12 does not qualify for the AP Poll because it is an FCS team.
South Carolina received 10 votes in the poll, while Vanderbilt got 8 and Auburn got 3. Kentucky and Auburn both enter the season with new head coaches, Will Stein and Alex Golesh, respectively. South Carolina, led by Shane Beamer, and Florida State, led by Mike Norvell, begin the year with coaches considered to be on the hot seat.
The AP Poll will be updated every Monday during the season until the first College Football Playoff Poll is released on Tuesday, Nov. 3. After that, the CFP Poll will come out each Tuesday before the final one on Sunday, Dec. 6, and that ranking will determine the 12 playoff teams.
In Other News...
Florida QB Battle Just Took A More Complicated Turn In Camp
The quarterback competition in Florida camp has started to reveal more than just a two-man race. Jon Sumrall spent time assessing both Aaron Philo and Tramell Jones after a recent scrimmage, and his comments suggested a sharper distinction than the usual summer coach speak. He pointed to Philos response after a mistake as a positive sign, while also making clear that the battle is still very much in progress as the Gators work through the early stages of fall camp.
Jones, meanwhile, drew a different kind of evaluation, with Sumrall emphasizing the areas where the young quarterback still has room to grow as he learns the offense. The details matter here because Florida is not just looking for arm talent, but for command, poise and consistency when the tempo picks up and the picture changes at the line. If this competition keeps tilting on those finer points, the next few practices could say a lot about how the staff ultimately sees the pecking order. [Read more 🡒]
Floridas New Coach Is Already Worried About One Offensive Problem
Floridas latest scrimmage gave Jon Sumrall a clearer picture of where the offense is ahead of the opener, and where it still has work to do. The new coach said the interior offensive line has taken a step forward, but the edge of the line has not looked nearly as settled, leaving tackle play as the area he is still watching most closely.
The other problem showed up in the situations that often decide games in the SEC. Sumrall said the Gators need better execution when the yardage is short, especially on third-and-1 and fourth-and-1, before they can feel good about the offense heading into the season. For a staff trying to build confidence fast, those are the kind of snaps that tend to reveal how ready a team really is. [Read more 🡒]
Florida Still Has Two Position Battles Fans Need To Watch
Florida kept working through its 11th practice of spring camp on Aug. 18 at the Sanders practice fields, with the opener against Florida Atlantic now just weeks away. Jon Sumrall said the staff is starting to shift into game-week rhythm in the final stretch of camp, which means cutting back reps, trimming the call sheets and getting a clearer picture of where the roster stands before the games count.
The day also brought a few signs that the competition is still active. Receiver Vernell Brown III was back on the field after sitting out the first scrimmage, and the workout drew a pair of scouts from the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks. For Florida, those details fit the larger theme of camp right now: the team is close to sorting out a couple of key position battles, but there is still enough time left for the picture to change. [Read more 🡒]