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GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA – NOVEMBER 23: KD Daniels #21 of the Florida Gators celebrates after defeating the Mississippi Rebels 24-17 in a game at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on November 23, 2024 in Gainesville, Florida. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)
After spending most of the season near the bottom of The Athletic’s SEC vibe check rankings, the Florida Gators are fifth in the conference after ending the College Football Playoff hopes of two ranked opponents.
Georgia beat writer and author of the SEC vibe check Seth Emerson has been sour on Florida head coach Billy Napier all year long, but even he can’t deny the progress made by the Gators since the first month of the season.
“Good for Billy Napier,” Emerson wrote. “Sometimes a coach survives the hot seat through luck, but in this case, Napier legitimately got his team better, and with DJ Lagway at quarterback, there’s real hope going forward. How much hope we’ll see, but Napier earned another year.”
The national narrative of Napier being on the hottest seat in college football has dissipated, and the future seems right for the Orange and Blue. The Gators are already bowl-eligible and can finish the 2024 season with eight wins, assuming a victory against 2-9 Florida State next week and a bowl-game victory.
The greatest irony lost in all of this is that Napier beat Lane Kiffin, the fan favorite to replace him if a coaching change were made, and dropped the Rebels from No. 2 to No. 13 in the vibe rankings.
Week 13 SEC vibe check rankings
South Carolina Gamecocks (8-3, 5-3 SEC)
Tennessee Volunteers (9-2, 5-2)
Texas Longhorns (10-1, 6-1)
Georgia Bulldogs (9-2, 6-2)
Florida Gators (6-5, 4-4)
Texas A&M Aggies (8-3, 5-2)
Missouri Tigers (8-3, 4-3)
Vanderbilt Commodores (6-5, 3-4)
Oklahoma Sooners (6-5, 2-5)
Auburn Tigers (5-6, 2-5)
Arkansas Razorbacks (6-5, 3-4)
Mississippi State…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/florida-top-five-athletics-sec-201638675.html
Author : Gators Wire
Publish date : 2024-11-24 20:16:00
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