Paul Finebaum, Heather Dinich explain why they think Florida is a Playoff team
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
Paul Finebaum and Heather Dinich are buying stock in Florida after the Gators’ impressive Week 4 win over Ole Miss at the Swamp. The Gators are now 4-0 in Jon Sumrall‘s first season.
Florida surged up the AP Poll as a result of the win, moving all the way up from No. 21 to No. 8. It’s the first time the Gators have been Top 10 in the rankings since 2021.
While that season ended with them going 6-7 — leading to Dan Mullen’s firing — there’s no reason right now to think this group under Sumrall won’t continue to make a push for a spot in the College Football Playoff when it’s all said and done.
“They are absolutely in the conversation right now,” Dinich said on “SportsCenter” on Sunday. “I have them at No. 8 after the games (Saturday) in my latest Top 12 projection. You could make a case that they should be even higher, because if the College Football Playoff selection committee were looking at this team today, they would certainly honor the head-to-head win against Ole Miss. But they would also consider the road win against Auburn, which is now a 3-1 team.”
Finebaum, who was on hand for the game as part of his duties for the SEC Network’s SEC Nation, concurred that Florida belonged in the discussion while adding that Saturday reminded him of when Urban Meyer and Steve Spurrier were at the helm.
“They are frighteningly good, if not great. And it’s all because of Jon Sumrall,” Finebaum said. “He may not want the credit, but he should get it because he has transformed that place overnight. … Jadan Baugh and every part of this football team is just screaming really good and, like, old-time Gators.”
October will be pivotal for Florida. It visits Mizzou in Week 5 before hosting South Carolina in Week 6. Then come two games that could decide the fate of the Gators’ season. They travel to No. 1 Texas in Week 7 before the Cocktail Party in Atlanta against No. 2 Georgia on Halloween.
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
