The Florida Gators will start the 2019 season as a top-10 football team. The USA Today Coaches Poll was released Thursday afternoon and the Florida Gators come in ranked No. 8 in the country.
Dan Mullen and the Gators went into the 2018 season unranked in preseason polls. Mullen and his coaching staff did a tremendous job to turn around a program that had fallen on hard times. The Gators finished 2018 with a 10-3 record and a Peach Bowl victory. Florida finished the season ranked No. 6 overall in the final CFP Playoff poll.
The Gators’ strong finish to 2018 and a deep core of returning starters warrants their high preseason ranking.
Six SEC teams found the preseason top-25. Florida State and Miami find themselves on the outside looking in, while UCF checks in tied at No. 17 with Wisconsin.
1. Clemson (59)
2. Alabama (6)
3. Georgia
4. Oklahoma
5. Ohio State
6. LSU
7. Michigan
8. Florida
9. Notre Dame
10. Texas
11. Texas A&M
12. Washington
13. Oregon
14. Penn State
15. Utah
16. Auburn
T17. Wisconsin
T17. UCF
19. Iowa
20. Michigan State
21. Washington State
22. Syracuse
23. Stanford
24. Iowa State
25. Northwestern