College Football Rankings: Projected Top 25, Week 10 – Big 12 gets wild

Florida rebounded from their Week 7 loss at LSU with a comfortable 11-point win against South Carolina in Week 8. That set up the Gators to head into their Week 8 bye with a 7-1 record and the top spot in the SEC East through the first two months of the season. Dan Mullen’s crew has one more win in conference play than Georgia, who they will face on November 2 in the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party in Jacksonville with inside track in the division on the line.

The Gators outscore opponents by about 17 points per game, pairing a competent offense with one of the best defenses in the country. Four different players have racked up multiple interceptions, as Florida ranks second nationally in interceptions. No SEC team is better at wreaking havoc on opposing quarterbacks than the Gators, who also average 3.6 sacks per game.

If they get past Georgia, the Gators will continue to build their credentials as a potential College Football Playoff threat. Vanderbilt and Missouri are the only other conference tests waiting in the regular season before closing out the campaign against Florida State. A rematch against LSU in the SEC championship game would offer the sweetest revenge for Florida, but a title-game victory over Alabama would just as easily push them into the top four in the country.