Less than 90 days remain before Florida football opens up its first season under new head coach Jon Sumrall and his revamped staff. Coming off a 4-8 campaign in 2025, which marked the final salvo of Billy Napier’s disappointing tenure, the Gator Nation has high hopes for the next era in the Swamp.
Expectations for the Orange and Blue this fall have been trending upward thanks to some key transfer portal acquisitions as well as the new faces on the sidelines. While the Gators will likely be better than they were in 2025 — their worst finish since 2013 — they still face an uphill battle in an extremely challenging Southeastern Conference that has programs climbing over each other like crabs in a bucket.
It should not come as a surprise, then, that Sumrall and Co. find themselves in the middle of the pack in the latest SEC football power rankings put together by On3’s Chris Low. He placed Florida at No. 9, between the Tennessee Volunteers and South Carolina Gamecocks, respectively, heading into the summer months.
“The Gators had seven players selected in the 2026 NFL Draft, and yes, limped to a 4-8 record last season. Enter Jon Sumrall, who has pumped a renewed sense of energy into a program that has suffered through losing seasons in four of the past five years,” Low notes.
“Aaron Philo is the odds-on favorite to win the quarterback job after transferring from Georgia Tech, where new Florida offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner coached him. Faulkner is an elite play-caller with a running back, Jadan Baugh, you can build an offense around.”
The addition of Faulkner is one of the primary reasons many are expecting the Gators to take a step forward this fall. Among the biggest criticisms of Napier was his reluctance to bring on a dedicated offensive play-caller to the sidelines — something that Sumrall did as one of his first moves after taking over the floundering program.
The optimism is also built upon a roster flush with talent — both returning and recently acquired. The defensive side of the ball, which ranked 89th out of 136 FBS schools in ESPN’s SP+ rankings last season, has been in dire need of some changes and will see some reinforcements this fall.
“The Gators bring back most of their defensive production from a year ago, but that unit was far from dominant in 2025. They’re hoping portal additions Kanye Clark (UCLA), DJ Coleman (Baylor) and Cam Dooley (Kentucky) will help strengthen the secondary,” Low concludes.
Florida kicks off its 2026 campaign against the FAU Owls on Sept. 5 inside Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, followed by another home game against the Campbell Fighting Camels the following weekend. After that pair of non-conference games to start the season, the Gators open up the conference slate on the road against the Auburn Tigers on Sept. 19.
They will also face the Ole Miss Rebels, Missouri Tigers, South Carolina Gamecocks, Texas Longhorns, Georgia Bulldogs, Oklahoma Sooners, Kentucky Wildcats and Vanderbilt Commodores, respectively, as part of the SEC’s new nine-game schedule. Florida then ends the regular-season schedule with its annual rivalry matchup against the Florida State Seminoles in Tallahassee.
- Texas
- Georgia
- Ole Miss
- Oklahoma
- Texas A&M
- LSU
- Alabama
- Tennessee
- Florida
- South Carolina
- Missouri
- Vanderbilt
- Auburn
- Mississippi State
- Kentucky
- Arkansas
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This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Florida football’s status in SEC Football Power Rankings from On3
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