Florida football is off to its strongest start since the 2020 campaign, winning the first four games of the fall and a fifth in its first-ever win in Austin over the Longhorns. After the cold and dreary Billy Napier era, the sun seems to be shining on the Gators once again.

At the midway point of the 2026 college football schedule, The Athletic's staff graded all 138 FBS schools, including those in the SEC. The Orange and Blue earned a B-plus mark for its solid performance through seven games.

"The Gators are tricky to grade. Florida has wins two over top-10 opponents (No. 4 Ole Miss, at No. 7 Texas) for the first time since 2012. Between those triumphs, the Gators suffered uncompetitive losses to Missouri and South Carolina," Matt Baker begins.

"Still, the progress outweighs the negatives in Jon Sumrall’s inconsistent first year. Florida is in the CFP picture and has a toughness that recent rosters have lacked. A realistic goal for Sumrall’s first year was to stabilize the program and create optimism things are headed the right way," he continues.

"So far, so good."

For comparison, CBS Sports gave the Gators a B grade for their efforts so far this fall.

Among fellow SEC schools, only Kentucky (A) and Georgia (A-) earned higher grades than Florida, while Auburn, LSU, Ole Miss, Mississippi State and Tennessee joined the Gators with B-plus marks. Alabama and Missouri both earned B grades, followed by Arkansas (B-), Oklahoma and Texas (C-), South Carolina (D+), and Texas A&M and Vanderbilt (D-).

The Athletic's midseason grades for SEC football

• Alabama (5-2): B

• Arkansas (3-4): B-

• Auburn (4-2): B+

• Florida (5-2): B+

• Georgia (6-1): A-

• Kentucky (6-1): A

• LSU (5-2): B+

• Ole Miss (5-1): B+

• Mississippi State (4-2): B+

• Missouri (5-2): B

• Oklahoma (3-3): C-

• South Carolina (3-3): D+

• Tennessee (6-1): B+

• Texas (4-2): C-

• Texas A&M (4-3): D-

• Vanderbilt (3-4): D-