Gators Continue To Rise in ESPN’s CFB Power Index Rankings

Wins over Mississippi State and UCF moved the Florida Gators nearly 20 spots up on ESPN's FPI rankings. An upset over Tennessee on Saturday could cause another dramatic rise.

Florida Gators offensive lineman Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson (65) leaps in the air as Florida Gators defensive back Cahron Rackley (32) carries the American flag while running out of the tunnel with the team as fireworks and fire shoot out of towers before the start of the game at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, FL on Saturday, October 5, 2024. [Doug Engle/Gainesville Sun] / Doug Engle/Gainesville Sun / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

After pulling off a 24-13 win over the UCF Knights, the Florida Gators are now 10 spots higher on ESPN’s Football Power Index (FPI) rankings. The rankings include all 134 FBS teams. Currently, Florida holds the 36th spot on the list. Prior to defeating UCF and Mississippi State, the Gators held the 52nd spot on the list. 

Each team received a FPI “rating”, which indicates how many points above or below average they are. Florida’s 7.2 rating places the Gators just ahead of Nebraska (7.0) and right behind South Carolina (7.4). According to ESPN, FPI is “the best predictor of a team's performance going forward for the rest of the season.”

Despite demonstrating some recent improvement after taking down UCF and Mississippi State, the FPI ratings project that Florida will finish with a losing record of 5-7. Although the program does seem to be gaining momentum, the majority of their remaining opponents are ranked among the top-10 teams in the FBS (Tennessee, Georgia, Texas, Ole Miss). 

With that being said, anything is possible (sort of). According to the ratings, the Gators still have a 0.5% chance of making the College Football Playoff this season. 

Finally, the rankings also calculate offensive and defensive efficiency. Florida’s defensive efficiency rating (44.7) is the second-worst rating in the SEC, while their offensive efficiency rating (68.6) is the eighth-best in the SEC. 

The rankings appear to correlate with most concrete statistics, given that Florida’s defense has given up the third-most yards in the SEC while also allowing the third-most points per game in the conference.

Saturday night, the Gators will face off against a long-time SEC rival, the eighth-ranked Tennessee Volunteers, who is favored by 15.5 points, according to FanDuel. A win against such a highly-ranked team would likely cause the Gators to dramatically rise in ESPN’s FPI rankings. The game will start at 7 p.m. ET and will be broadcasted on ESPN.