A bye week gave the Florida Gators a boost. Coaches recruited. Players mended injuries and enjoyed family with days off from the gridiron grind. Plus, the team may move up in the polls without playing a live snap.
A loss by No. 8 Stanford (3-1) against unranked Washington means the No. 11 Gators (4-0) could be in the Top 10 when the Associated Press Top 25 poll is released Sunday afternoon.
Next Saturday’s 3:30 p.m. game against No. 3 LSU possibly will pit a pair of top 10 teams on Florida Field for the first time is six years. No. 5 Florida beat No. 9 LSU 23-10 on Oct. 7, 2006.
Florida last appeared in the top 10 in Week 5 of the 2010 season. A 31-6 loss at No. 1 Alabama ended the second longest streak in school history with 32 consecutive weeks among the top 10.
If the Gators do move up in the polls despite not playing, Southeastern Conference teams will make up half of the top 10.
However, No. 12 Texas was eight votes (864-856) behind Florida in last week’s AP poll, so voters could leap the Longhorns into 10th. Texas won a 41-36 thriller at unranked Oklahoma State, and as previously noted, the Gators did not play.
Around the SEC, LSU beat Towson in a closer-than-expected 38-22 final. Quarterback Zach Mettenberger was 15 of 26 for 238 yards and two touchdowns while the Tigers’ defense allowed 3.8 yards per play.
The SEC Game of the Week was at Sanford Stadium in Athens, Ga. No. 5 Georgia outgunned unranked Tennessee in a 51-44 shootout between teams that rank 1-2 in the league in total offense.
The 30-all halftime score was highest combined first-half total in the history of the SEC. The 44 points were more than the Bulldogs gave up in their previous three games combined (43).
No. 6 South Carolina survived an early scare in Lexington before using a 31-point second half to pull away for a 38-17 victory at Kentucky. The Wildcats, shutout 38-0 at Florida a week earlier, led 17-7 at halftime.
In other games, Missouri edged Central Florida 21-16, Texas A&M throttled Arkansas 58-10 and No. 1 Alabama handled Ole Miss 33-14.
Georgia battles South Carolina in primetime next Saturday. Both are 2-0, the only undefeated SEC Eastern Division teams other than the Gators.
Florida became the first three-conference win team last weekend, but voters may remember past 4-0 starts that came to a screeching halt.
Regardless of what pollsters think, the Gators remain in positive footing in the Eastern Division standings.
At worst — a loss against LSU — Florida will be half a game out of first place in the division.
At best — a win against LSU — the Gators will be half a game ahead of the Georgia-South Carolina winner in first place.
Here’s a look at the updated SEC Standings:
Team SEC Pct. Overall Pct. Home Away Neutral Streak
EASTERN
Florida 3 – 0 1.000 4 – 0 1.000 2-0 2-0 0-0 W4
Georgia 2 – 0 1.000 4 – 0 1.000 3-0 1-0 0-0 W4
South Carolina 2 – 0 1.000 4 – 0 1.000 3-0 1-0 0-0 W4
Kentucky 0 – 1 .000 1 – 3 .250 1-1 0-2 0-0 L2
Tennessee 0 – 1 .000 3 – 1 .750 2-1 0-0 1-0 W1
Missouri 0 – 2 .000 2 – 2 .500 2-1 0-1 0-0 L1
Vanderbilt 0 – 2 .000 1 – 3 .250 1-1 0-2 0-0 L1
WESTERN
Alabama 1 – 0 1.000 4 – 0 1.000 2-0 1-0 1-0 W4
LSU 1 – 0 1.000 4 – 0 1.000 3-0 1-0 0-0 W4
Mississippi St. 1 – 0 1.000 4 – 0 1.000 3-0 1-0 0-0 W4
Ole Miss 0 – 0 .000 3 – 1 .750 2-1 1-0 0-0 W1
Texas A&M 0 – 1 .000 2 – 1 .667 1-1 1-0 0-0 W2
Arkansas 0 – 1 .000 1 – 3 .250 1-3 0-0 0-0 L3
Auburn 0 – 2 .000 1 – 3 .250 1-1 0-1 0-1 L1
Here’s a look at next week’s SEC slate:
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 6TH
Event Time (ET) TV
Arkansas at Auburn 12:00 PM ESPN2
Mississippi St. at Kentucky 12:21 PM SEC Network
LSU at Florida 3:30 PM CBS
Texas A&M at Ole Miss 7:00 PM ESPNU
Georgia at South Carolina 7:00 PM ESPN
Vanderbilt at Missouri 7:00 PM FSN