Florida Gators Jump to No. 3 in Coaches Poll, Highest Since 2012

The Florida Gators crack the top three in the Coaches Poll for the first time since week eight of the 2012 season.

Following a season-opening victory filled with fireworks offensively, the Florida Gators (1-0) have jumped up to the No. 3 spot in the weekly USA Today Amway Coaches Poll, after entering the season at No. 6. This marks the first time Florida has cracked the top three of the coaches poll since week eight of the 2012 season.

RELATED: Five key takeaways from Florida's 51-35 win over Ole Miss

After a 51-35 road win over the Ole Miss (0-1), Florida was expected to jump LSU (0-1), who held the No. 5 spot but lost its season-opening game to the unranked Mississippi State (1-0), who now stands at No. 14 under the direction of new head coach Mike Leach. LSU now claims the No. 17 spot in the rankings. 

The Gators also moved ahead of SEC East foe Georgia (1-0), who fell from No. 3 to No. 4 after a 37-10 victory over Arkansas (0-1). The Bulldogs were down by a score of 7-5 at halftime, before putting up a stronger showing offensively in the second half.

In total, eight SEC teams can be found on the latest Coaches Poll: No. 2 Alabama (1-0), No. 3 Florida, No. 4 Georgia, No. 7 Auburn (1-0), No. 13 Texas A&M (1-0), No. 14 Mississippi State, No. 17 LSU, and No. 20 Tennessee (1-0).

Florida will next face South Carolina (0-1), the second game of the Gators' 10-game, all-SEC 2020 schedule, at home on Saturday, kicking off at noon.

Below, you can find the entire updated Coaches Poll, ahead of week five.

1. Clemson (2-0)

2. Alabama (1-0)

3. Florida (1-0)

4. Georgia (1-0)

5. Notre Dame (2-0)

6. Ohio State (0-0)

7. Auburn (1-0)

8. Miami (3-0)

9. Texas (2-0)

10. Penn State (0-0)

11. North Carolina (1-0)

12. UCF (2-0)

13. Texas A&M (1-0)

14. Mississippi State (1-0)

15. Cincinnati (2-0)

16. Oklahoma (1-1)

17. LSU (0-1)

18. Wisconsin (0-0)

19. Oklahoma State (2-0)

20. Tennessee (1-0)

21. Michigan (0-0)

22. BYU (2-0)

23. Virginia Tech (1-0)

24. Memphis (1-0)

25. Pittsburgh (3-0)

Dropped out: No. 22 Minnesota; No. 25 UL Lafayette