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Florida Gators running back Ja’Kobi Jackson (24) finds a hole and leaps a teammate during the first half at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, FL on Friday, December 20, 2024 in the 2024 Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl. [Doug Engle/Gainesville Sun]
Florida football earned its first postseason victory in five years last Friday when it defeated the Tulane Green Wave, 33-8, in the 2024 Gasparilla Bowl. The Gators came close to pitching their first shutout since 2021 in an otherwise dominating defensive effort.
The win capped a four-game winning streak to wrap up head coach Billy Napier’s third season on the sideline in Gainesville — one in which he was perilously close to losing his job early on. The program gave him a vote of confidence in early November and since then, the team has turned things around on and off the field.
Not only did Florida get its postseason action this weekend, but the opening round of the College Football Playoff also took place. As a result, there were some changes in ESPN’s Football Power Index rankings as of Sunday.
Florida football’s FPI ranking, rating
Following the win, the FPI lifted Florida up to No. 22 — three spots better than our last update — with the team’s overall rating rising from 11.8 to 13.0. That puts the Gators between the No. 18 USC Trojans and No. 20 Colorado Buffaloes.
While the final rankings will not be available until the championship game is played, that is the end of the line for the Gators. It was a long road that saw them start the season at No. 20 in the FPI but quickly fall down the rankings, only to return to the top 25 at the end of their schedule.
SEC teams in FPI
After the opening round of the CFP, the Texas Longhorns remain ranked No. 1 with a 26.2 overall rating, followed by the Alabama Crimson Tide (4th, 23.9) and Georgia Bulldogs (5th, 22.1) among…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/florida-moves-football-power-index-211959119.html
Author : Gators Wire
Publish date : 2024-12-22 21:19:00
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