ESPN analyst Greg McElroy believes Florida should be in top 4 of CFP rankings
By Jake Rill
Published:
In the first edition of this season’s College Football Playoff rankings, Florida was at No. 6. That would leave the Gators out of the four-team field that currently has only one SEC team in it (Alabama).
On Tuesday, the updated CFP rankings will be released. And ESPN analyst Greg McElroy believes Florida should be on the rise, which he explained during an appearance on SportsCenter.
“Florida withstood what was a decent effort from Kentucky early on, and eventually, they pulled away. I didn’t think they had anywhere near their best performance,” McElroy said on the show (h/t Riley Gates of 247Sports.com). “But what they did as opposed to the other two teams you would consider ranking in the 4 spot — those two teams being Texas A&M and Ohio State — they played, and they played relatively well. I would, actually, this week move Florida into the top four. Move Ohio State and Texas A&M back after missing a game and, obviously, a disappointing performance against LSU.”
Florida beat Kentucky, 34-10, to improve to 7-1 and extend its winning streak to five. Meanwhile, Ohio State didn’t play due to positive COVID-19 tests, while Texas A&M beat LSU, 20-7. In the first CFP rankings, the Buckeyes were at No. 4 followed by the Aggies at No. 5.
The Gators have two regular-season games remaining (at Tennessee on Saturday and vs. LSU on Dec. 12) before they likely advance to the SEC Championship Game for a probable matchup against Alabama. If Florida wins the SEC title, it would certainly reach the College Football Playoff.
But if McIlroy is right, the Gators could potentially move into the top four of the rankings before then.
After Tuesday’s CFP rankings reveal, Florida will look to keep its momentum going when it faces Tennessee on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET on CBS.
Jake Rill contributes to news coverage for Saturday Down South. He has covered the SEC since 2016.
