Don't look now, but the Florida Gators are legitimately in the College Football Playoff picture for the first time after beating the Ole Miss Rebels in the Swamp on Saturday.
According to USA TODAY Sports writer Matt Hayes, the Gators are in the thick of the CFP race following college football's Week 4 slate, checking in at the No. 5 seed in his playoff predictor — just outside of a potential first-round bye. His bracket has Jon Sumrall and Co. facing 12th-seeded Boise State in the opening round.
"Hard to not push the Gators even higher after the dismantling of last week’s No. 1 Ole Miss," Hayes states. "They dealt with adversity; now show us dealing with success."
Florida is among six SEC schools currently in Hayes' playoff picture, giving the
conference a full 50% of the postseason positions. Texas and Georgia occupy the top two seeds, while Alabama trails the Gators at No. 6, followed by Ole Miss at No. 7 and LSU at No. 8.
The College Football Playoff field after Week 4
- Texas
- Georgia
- Ohio State
- Miami
- Florida
- Alabama
- Ole Miss
- LSU
- Notre Dame
- Indiana
- BYU
- Boise State
First round byes
- Texas
- Georgia
- Ohio State
- Miami
First round
- Boise State (12) at Florida (5)
- BYU (11) at Alabama (6)
- Indiana (10) at Ole Miss (7)
- Notre Dame (9) at LSU (8)
Quarterfinals
- Texas (1) vs. Notre Dame-LSU winner
- Georgia (2) vs. Indiana-Ole Miss winner
- Ohio State (3) vs. BYU-Alabama winner
- Miami (4) vs. Florida-Boise State winner
Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, as well as Bluesky, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.
This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Florida finds itself in College Football Playoff picture after Week 4
