Following a 31-13 loss to the No. 12 Florida State Seminoles the Florida Gators held in at No. 15 in the newest College Football Playoff Rankings released on Tuesday.
The Gators were bumped into the top-15 after a win on the road against LSU. That win and ranking made Florida a dark horse candidate to potentially make it to the final four teams that will compete for a championship. Florida would have needed to beat Florida State and then Alabama this week to do that, but it was still on the table of possibility.
The loss to Florida State ended those hopes but the Gators are still in line to potentially play for a major bowl game. The Gators are currently ranked behind No. 14 Auburn but ahead of No. 21 LSU and No. 22 Tennessee.
The Sugar Bowl is contractually obligated to take a SEC team. Alabama seems to be a shoo-in for the College Football Playoff, meaning the Sugar Bowl would take the next highest ranked team in the conference. If the Gators beat Alabama or give the Tide a run for their money, could the Gators, even with a loss, hop over idle Auburn? If Florida were to stay below Auburn or drop below LSU in the final CFP rankings that will be released after the conference championship games are played this week they would make a return to the Citrus Bowl, which has the first pick of SEC team after the Sugar Bowl, or the Outback Bowl in Tampa.
COMPLETE COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF RANKINGS
1. Alabama (12-0)
2. Ohio State (11-1)
3. Clemson (11-1)
4. Washington (11-1)
5. Michigan (10-2)
6. Wisconsin (10-2)
7. Penn State (10-2)
8. Colorado (10-2)
9. Oklahoma (9-2)
10. Oklahoma State (9-2)
11. USC (9-3)
12. Florida State (9-3)
13. Louisville (9-3)
14. Auburn (8-4)
15. Florida (8-3)
16. West Virginia (9-2)
17. Western Michigan (12-0)
18. Stanford (9-3)
19. Navy (9-2)
20. Utah (8-4)
21. LSU (7-4)