Florida loses all support in USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll following loss to Vanderbilt
Florida’s embarrassing loss to Vanderbilt on Saturday predictably led to the Gators losing all support gained over the past two weeks in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll.
After beating Texas A&M and South Carolina in convincing fashion, Florida gained enough support to warrant eight points in last week’s poll, but now the Gators are nowhere to be seen with one game left to play in the season. It’s an unfortunate bump in the road for Billy Napier and Co., one that the first-year Florida coach called “a reality check,” and it all but guarantees that UF will finish the season unranked.
There was hope that finishing the regular season on a four-game win streak, assuming a win over now No. 16 Florida State on Friday, would be enough to get Florida a decent bowl game and ranking, but those dreams faded away with the loss. Florida still has several quality losses on the year, but this was not one of them and those won’t matter much when the final votes are cast.
The Gators weren’t the only team to falter in Week 12, though. Tennessee fell to South Carolina (the team Florida beat by 30+ points a week ago), and UCF dropped out of the top 25 following a loss to Navy.
Here’s a look at the poll in its entirety.
Georgia Bulldogs
Jordan Prather-USA TODAY Sports
Last week: No. 1
Ohio State Buckeyes
Kyle Robertson/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK
Last Week: No. 2
Michigan Wolverines
Kirthmon F. Dozier / USA TODAY NETWORK
Last Week: No. 3
TCU Horned Frogs
Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Last Week: No. 4
USC Trojans
Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
Last Week: No. 6
LSU Tigers
Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports
Last Week: No. 7
Alabama Crimson Tide
Gary Cosby Jr.-USA TODAY Sports
Last Week: No. 8
Clemson Tigers
Ken Ruinard-USA TODAY Sports
Last Week: No. 9
Oregon Ducks
Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK
Last Week: No. 13
Penn State Nittany Lions
Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports
Last Week: No. 12
Tennessee Volunteers
Jeff Blake-USA TODAY Sports
Last Week: No. 5
Washington Huskies
Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports
Last Week: No. 15
Kansas State Wildcats
Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports
Last Week: No. 17
Utah Utes
Troy Wayrynen-USA TODAY Sports
Last Week: No. 10
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports
Lat Week: No. 19
Florida State Seminoles
Melina Myers-USA TODAY Sports
Last Week: No. 20
North Carolina Tar Heels
Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
Last Week: No. 11
UCLA Bruins
Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
Last Week: No. 16
Ole Miss Rebels
Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports
Last Week: No. 14
Tulane Green Wave
Andrew Wevers-USA TODAY Sports
Last Week: No. 22
Cincinnati Bearcats
Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Last Week: No. 21
Oregon State Beavers
Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Last Week: NR
Coastal Carolina Chanticleers
David Yeazell-USA TODAY Sports
Last Week: No. 23
Texas Longhorns
Mikala Compton/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK
Last Week: NR
UTSA Roadrunners
John Gutierrez-USA TODAY Sports
Last Week: NR
Schools dropped out
No. 18 Central Florida; No. 24 Oklahoma State; No. 25 NC State.
Others receiving votes
Central Florida 41; Troy 39; South Carolina 38; Pittsburgh 17; Wake Forest 16; Iowa 15; Louisville 9; Boise State 9; South Alabama 8; Illinois 8; Air Force 6; Purdue 5; Washington State 3; Liberty 3; Georgia Tech 2; Mississippi State 1.
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