The Florida Gators got their second breather of the 2025 campaign during Week 9 of the college football schedule. It was a much-needed bye after dismissing Billy Napier from his head coaching duties, with the rivalry matchup with the Georgia Bulldogs up next.
Wide receivers coach Billy Gonzales has taken over Napier’s sideline duties and is looking to make some adjustments where his predecessor fell short. The Orange and Blue came into the season ranked among the top 25 teams in both major polls but have since stumbled to a 3-4 record heading into the home stretch.
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Following last weekend’s slate of gridiron action, Florida found itself down two spots in ESPN’s SP+ rankings put together by Bill Connelly, falling to No. 40 in the metric’s overall rankings. The Gators now sit behind the No. 39 USF Bulls — who beat them in the Swamp in Week 2 — and just ahead of the No. 41 Arkansas Razorbacks.
The team’s overall SP+ rating fell from 9.4 last week to 9.1 this week, with the offense remaining at 28.2 points, which moves them up a spot to 63rd in the nation. Florida’s defensive metric jumped from 18.1 to 19.5 but fell from 23rd to 25th in the rankings; special teams improved from 0.3 to 0.4 but dropped from 12th to 15th in the country.
About ESPN’s SP+ projections
“What is SP+? In a single sentence, it’s a tempo- and opponent-adjusted measure of college football efficiency that I originally created at Football Outsiders in 2008. SP+ is intended to be predictive and forward-facing,” Connelly notes.
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“It is not a résumé ranking (hence the lack of unbeatens near the top), so it does not automatically give credit for big wins or particularly brave scheduling — no good predictive system does. It is simply a measure of the most sustainable and predictable aspects of football. If you’re lucky or unimpressive in a win, your rating will probably fall. If you’re strong and unlucky in a loss, it will probably rise.”
ESPN’s Week 9 SP+ top 25 rankings
|
Team |
Rating |
Offense |
Defense |
Spec Tms |
Rk Chg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1. Indiana (8-0) |
27.9 |
39.7 (6) |
12.2 (2) |
0.4 (11) |
+2 |
|
2. Ohio St. (7-0) |
27.5 |
37.8 (11) |
10.2 (1) |
0.0 (77) |
-1 |
|
3. Oregon (7-1) |
26.9 |
39.1 (7) |
12.5 (5) |
0.3 (28) |
-1 |
|
4. Texas Tech (7-1) |
23.9 |
38.9 (9) |
15.0 (8) |
0.0 (65) |
+0 |
|
5. Texas A&M (8-0) |
21.3 |
40.3 (3) |
19.1 (21) |
0.1 (60) |
+2 |
|
6. Notre Dame (5-2) |
21.1 |
40.2 (4) |
19.3 (22) |
0.1 (51) |
+0 |
|
7. Utah (6-2) |
20.9 |
34.6 (25) |
13.9 (7) |
0.2 (44) |
+7 |
|
8. Oklahoma (6-2) |
20.6 |
32.6 (38) |
12.4 (4) |
0.3 (24) |
-3 |
|
9. Alabama (7-1) |
20.1 |
37.0 (15) |
16.9 (12) |
0.0 (71) |
+0 |
|
10. Ole Miss (7-1) |
19.5 |
38.6 (10) |
19.7 (26) |
0.5 (3) |
+2 |
|
11. Miami (6-1) |
19.5 |
36.8 (16) |
17.8 (14) |
0.4 (13) |
+2 |
|
12. Georgia (6-1) |
19.2 |
37.3 (13) |
18.7 (19) |
0.6 (1) |
-2 |
|
13. Texas (6-2) |
18.1 |
30.3 (53) |
12.3 (3) |
0.1 (57) |
-2 |
|
14. Missouri (6-2) |
18.0 |
34.4 (26) |
16.0 (10) |
-0.4 (117) |
-6 |
|
15. Vanderbilt (7-1) |
17.8 |
37.4 (12) |
20.1 (32) |
0.5 (4) |
+0 |
|
16. USC (5-2) |
17.7 |
41.3 (1) |
23.9 (50) |
0.4 (21) |
+0 |
|
17. Iowa (6-2) |
17.6 |
31.1 (47) |
13.8 (6) |
0.2 (39) |
+5 |
|
18. Tennessee (6-2) |
17.0 |
40.4 (2) |
23.8 (48) |
0.5 (10) |
+0 |
|
19. BYU (8-0) |
16.9 |
34.3 (27) |
17.9 (15) |
0.5 (6) |
+1 |
|
20. Penn St. (3-4) |
16.8 |
34.8 (24) |
18.3 (18) |
0.4 (18) |
-3 |
|
21. Michigan (6-2) |
16.5 |
32.0 (43) |
15.4 (9) |
-0.1 (86) |
+0 |
|
22. Washington (6-2) |
15.3 |
35.7 (19) |
20.1 (30) |
-0.3 (105) |
+1 |
|
23. Cincinnati (7-1) |
14.3 |
35.7 (20) |
21.8 (38) |
0.4 (16) |
+2 |
|
24. Louisville (6-1) |
14.0 |
33.8 (32) |
19.8 (28) |
0.0 (66) |
+0 |
|
25. Ga. Tech (8-0) |
13.7 |
36.3 (17) |
22.9 (45) |
0.4 (22) |
+3 |
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This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Florida Gators’ SP+ rankings after Week 9 of college football
