Texas and Florida State are out, South Carolina and Florida are in. That’s what the coaches decided after a jam-packed opening weekend of the 2018 season.

UT’s exit from the poll comes as no surprise. The Longhorns entered the season ranked No. 21 in the Coaches Poll, but fell to Maryland in Week 1 29-34 despite being 14-point favorites. Florida State similarly played its way out of the rankings. FSU was No. 19 to start the season, but the betting favorite (7 points) going into Monday night’s ACC clash with No. 17 Virginia Tech in Tallahassee, Fla. The Hokies won the game 24-3.

With two spots open, the coaches turned to the SEC to fill those vacancies

South Carolina opened the 2018 season with a 49-15 win over Coastal Carolina. While it’s a satisfying win for the Gamecocks, the No. 24 ranking in the Week 2 poll may be more of a reflection of the fact that USC was basically the first team out, missing the preseason Top 25 cut, but next in line in terms of receiving votes.

Next in line in the “others receiving votes” list was Florida. UF now holds the No. 25 ranking as the coaches decided to give the spot opened up by FSU’s exit to the Gators. In Dan Mullen’s first game as head coach, Florida cruised past Charleston Southern 53-6.

While Gamecocks and Gators fans were happy to see their teams win, and now ranked, it’s somewhat surprising that the coaches voted them in favor of two teams that defeated Power 5 foes. Maryland was the team that knocked off Texas, certainly a stronger opponent than Coastal Carolina or Charleston Southern. Ole Miss thumped Texas Tech 47-27 in the Advocare Texas Kickoff in Houston. While Texas Tech was not ranked, the Red Raiders are still a Power 5 team, something that cannot be said for Coastal Carolina or Charleston Southern.

Here’s the complete poll:

  1. Alabama
  2. Clemson
  3. Georgia
  4. Ohio State
  5. Oklahoma
  6. Wisconsin
  7. Auburn
  8. Notre Dame
  9. Stanford
  10. Penn State
  11. Washington
  12. USC
  13. Michigan State
  14. Virginia Tech
  15. LSU
  16. TCU
  17. West Virginia
  18. Mississippi State
  19. Boise State
  20. UCF
  21. Miami
  22. Michigan
  23. Oklahoma State
  24. South Carolina
  25. Florida