With the 2026 college football offseason drawing closer to an end, preseason projections continue to roll in.
Athlon Sports recently grouped every Southeastern Conference team into tiers based on their outlook for the upcoming season, offering a glimpse at where each program stands entering fall camp. Here's where Florida landed among the SEC's contenders.
Florida found its place in tier three, the wild-card teams, just below the contenders for a College Football Playoff spot and just above the teams that should project to just make a bowl game. The Gators are grouped with South Carolina, Auburn and Missouri.
If everything goes right in year one for the Gators, they would not be a surprise to make the College Football Playoffs.
Getting talent in Gainesville
has never been the issue for Florida.
Florida's success is dependent on whether Jon Sumrall can continue to translate his coaching into the SEC. Since becoming a head coach, Sumrall has never posted a losing season, missed a bowl game or lost more than five games in a year. While that success came in the Sun Belt and American Athletic Conference, his track record proves he knows how to maximize a roster.
The turnaround for Florida is not about if — it's about when — and with the high-level of playmakers that the Gators have, with Jadan Baugh and Jayden Woods leading the way, the waiting period to get back to the top of the SEC should be accelerated.
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This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Florida among the wild-card teams in the SEC this season
