Florida is still unbeaten, and ESPN isn’t exactly treating that as a fluke.
The Gators are 3-0 for the first time since 2019, and they head into Week 4 with a shot at their first top-five win in more than a decade. That’s enough to make people pay attention. It’s also enough to make ESPN’s Bill Connelly dig in and sort the 35 remaining undefeated FBS teams into the ones that look real and the ones that need a closer look.
Florida lands somewhere in the middle of that conversation, but the offense is doing plenty to keep the spotlight on Gainesville. The Gators are scoring 54 points per game after pounding FAU and Campbell by a combined 94 points, then surprising plenty of observers by putting up 44 on Auburn. Through three games, Buster Faulkner’s offense has piled up 162 points.
Aaron Philo has been at the center of it, throwing for 721 yards and six touchdowns. Jadan Baugh has been just as eye-catching, finding the end zone eight times already.
Connelly gave Florida just a 2.3% chance of finishing 12-0, and his reasoning starts on the other side of the ball.
"The defense hasn't proved itself just yet; against an Auburn offense that looked wobbly against Baylor in Week 1, the Gators allowed 39 points and 5.7 yards per play. But the offense remains terrifying: Jadan Baugh rushed for another 162 yards and three scores Saturday, and Florida ranks first nationally in points per possession," wrote Connelly.
That’s the tension with this team right now: the offense looks explosive enough to overwhelm just about anybody, while the defense still has something to prove. Ole Miss is next, and that gives Florida a real chance to make a louder national statement.
For what it’s worth, ESPN currently has Florida at No. 15 in SP+ and No. 16 in FPI. And since SP+ is built to account for opponent and tempo rather than just the record, it’s a useful lens for a group of undefeated teams trying to separate substance from smoke.
In Other News...
Florida Suddenly Has A Receiver Problem In A Huge Ole Miss Game
Jadan Baugh gave Florida a needed spark in the first half against Ole Miss, scoring twice and helping keep the Gators in the fight early. But the more pressing storyline for Florida has been at receiver, where Bailey Stockton took a helmet-to-helmet hit from Ole Miss safety Joenel Aguero, who was ejected for targeting, and the Gators had to keep moving without full certainty at a position group already being tested.
Stockton appears set to return in the third quarter, which is at least a relief for a Florida offense that cannot afford to keep losing bodies on the perimeter in a game this important. Eric Singleton Jr. and Vernell Brown III are also dealing with injuries that have affected their playtime, leaving Florida to piece together answers while trying to keep pace with an Ole Miss team that has already forced the Gators to adjust on the fly. [Read more 🡒]
Tennessee Lands More GameDay Attention As ESPN Debate Heats Up
Kirk Herbstreit pushed back Thursday against the familiar claim that ESPN leans too heavily toward the SEC, addressing it during an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show as debate around College GameDay kept building. He pointed to the way similar arguments spill over into the AP and coaches polls, while also looking ahead to the Week 4 schedule and the attention around Ole Misss trip to Florida.
For the Gators, it is another reminder that this matchup is landing in a busy national spotlight, even as the broader conversation keeps circling back to ESPNs SEC footprint and the conferences long-running prominence on GameDay. The networks 10-year deal with the league, along with recent results and viewership, only adds more fuel to a discussion that seems to follow the SEC wherever the production trucks go. [Read more 🡒]
Floridas Fast Start Now Puts Two Big Gators Concerns Under Pressure
Floridas 3-0 start has done more than keep the Gators unbeaten and in the AP Top 25. It has also given the program a clearer picture of what is working early, with quarterback Aaron Philo, running back Jadan Baugh and a disruptive pass rush led by Jayden Woods and Emmanuel Oyebadejo helping set the tone through the first stretch of the season.
The challenge now is whether those early strengths can keep carrying the load once the schedule stiffens. The secondary has already shown some vulnerability against the pass, and the offensive line still has questions to answer before Florida runs into tougher opponents, which makes the next few weeks a chance to find out how much of this fast start can really hold up. [Read more 🡒]