The Florida Gators miraculously remain in the AP Poll despite a brutal loss to Georgia. Ranked 17th at the time of the 27-8 loss, the Gators on Sunday fell eight spots to No. 25 in the updated poll.

This is the final AP Poll before the first College Football Playoff Poll of the 2026 season is released on Tuesday.

While the Gators were embarrassed at the hands of the now-second-ranked Bulldogs, Florida's early-season resume is keeping them ranked. Florida holds a pair of top-15 wins with victories over No. 12 Ole Miss by 24 at home and No. 7 Texas on the road. While losses hurt, all three come against now-ranked opponents in No. 19 Missouri, No. 23 South Carolina and No. 2 Georgia.

Florida has also benefitted from the general chaos around college football. After being ranked 20th following the win over the Longhorns, the Gators rose three spots to No. 17 after its bye week due to upsets ahead of them.

The Gators will also have plenty of opportunties to improve its standing, and possibly get back into the playoff picture if more upsets happen. Florida will likely be favored in upcoming matchups against Oklahoma (Nov. 7), Vanderbilt (Nov. 21) and at Florida State (Nov. 27) and will have an opportunity for a third top-10 win this season when they travel to No. 8 Kentucky (Nov. 14).

That being said, the Gators have looked like anything but a ranked team in three of its last four games. 19-point and 17-point losses to Missouri and South Carolina were humbling after a 4-0 start, while Saturday's loss to Georgia, in which many self-inflicted mistakes led to its sixth straight loss to the Bulldogs, proves Florida still has more questions than answers moving forward.

"I promise you we’re gonna get this right," head coach Jon Sumrall said after the loss. "Commit to giving everything I have for us to freaking get this right. And I’m freaking not okay with today, I’m not gonna whine and complain. We gotta get better."

The AP Poll, while historic, will no longer be the primary poll once the CFP Poll is released on Tuesday, but it is a good indicator of where Florida could possibly be ranked when it is released. The four Power Four champions, plus the seven highest-ranked Power Four non-champions and the highest-ranked Group of Six team will make up the 12 teams in the playoff.

The first CFP Poll of 2026 will be released on Tuesday on ESPN from 7 p.m. until 8 p.m.

Sign up for our free Florida Gators newsletter and follow us on Facebook and X for the latest news!