The Florida Gators are currently 4-3 (1-3) at the approximate halfway point if the season. Earlier this year I predicted the Gators would be 5-2 (3-1) at this point despite the data predicting the Gators at 3-4 (1-3). The Gators are near the bottom of the SEC in most metrics, and are losing ground to most of their rivals.
Power Rankings 1. UGA 2. UT 3. Utah 4. LSU 5. UK 6. TAMU 7. FSU 8. UF 9. USCe 10. Missouri
Florida Gators
Offense: C. The athletes that Napier brought in are by far more talented and more stable than the garbage recruits he inherited from Mullen. I have turned sour on Anthony Richardson, but I do have hope for him next year as Napier surrounds him with better athletes.
Defense: D. Defense is harder to learn as a freshman, so most of the headaches with this team come from veterans recruited by Mullen and coached by Grantham. These guys are historically bad, but Patrick Toney has tried a few things to squeeze performance out of these knuckleheads.
Special Teams: C. The GameChanger team has not changed the team except on a couple plays by Etienne. The kicker that Napier brought in was injured in the offseason, so we are using a walk-on kicker. The punter is excellent. With some better playmakers perhaps the GameChanger unit will live up to its name.
Overall: The intangibles of patient coaching, scheme adjustment, and recruiting give this staff an A for effort. Mullen was fired for not recruiting a good team, even though on paper it is the 12th-most talented team in America. The adjusted performance puts these athletes around #30 in talent, which we will see firsthand if the Gators make a bowl game.
Utah Utes
Utah was predicted to go 12-0, but they stumbled against Florida and #18 UCLA. They next challenge will be #10 Oregon, who have beaten now #9 UCLA and #12 BYU. Currently Utah has a higher FPI and is favored to beat Oregon, but that will likely change as Oregon's FPI continues going up with quality wins--currently up to 16.4 from a week 1 FPI of 12.9 Utah will likely go 10-2, but they could go 9-3 with a loss to Oregon. Utah gets a B- at the midpoint of the season.
Rankings and Grades
Kentucky Wildcats
Kentucky was projected to go 8-4, that is likely where they end up albeit via different means. Kentucky was expected to beat USCe and lose to Mississippi State, but they flipped those outcomes. Kentucky looked ugly in their win against Florida, but they proved that consistent coaching and consistent recruiting make a better program. Overall the team is regressing a bit as the FPI has dropped from 12.0 to 8.6, which is still higher than Florida and the remainder of their schedule other than Georgia.
Ratings and Grades
Missouri Tigers
Missouri is usually a good benchmark for Florida, and this year they did not fall short of that expectation. Missouri is hot trash, and Florida is just warm trash. They were expected to go 4-8, and that is likely where they end up. Their FPI keeps hovering at 2.1, which means they will likely lose the remainder of their SEC schedule. Missouri gets a big D, and I don't mean Dallas.
Ratings and Grades
LSU Tigers
I fell into the trap of thinking that LSU would take a step back due to all the turmoil on campus. It turns out that Ed Orgeron built a very good team and together with his predecessor, the Mad Hatter, they have kept the talent pipeline flowing through Death Valley. The addition of Brian Kelly and his disciplined brand of football means that LSU should not be counted out in the long run once things settle down on campus. Statistically they were projected to go 10-2 based on talent alone, but that loss to FSU early in the season as forgivable as it is puts them at 9-3. LSU's FPI has increased from 14.0 to 16.1, which is just outside elite range. LSU gets a B+.
Ratings and Grades
FSU Seminoles
FSU might be the most improved team on our schedule, unfortunately. Their FPI has improved from 7.9 to 10.1 despite losses to #22 Wake Forest, #14 NC State and #4 Clemson. The Holes were predicted to go 7-5 but they will likely go 8-4 this year with a win over Florida.
Ratings and Grades
Summary The Florida Gators are not a very good team, and our key rivals are much better. I have included Utah here since they are a good benchmark for the rest of FBS and we get another shot at them next year for comparison.
Power Rankings 1. UGA 2. UT 3. Utah 4. LSU 5. UK 6. TAMU 7. FSU 8. UF 9. USCe 10. Missouri