Florida in the top 40 of ESPN’s SP+ rankings after bowl season
ESPN has released their latest college football SP+ rankings after bowl season, with the Florida Gators coming in as a top 40 team in the country.
Connelly developed the SP+ ranking system in 2008 and, in his own words, is “a tempo- and opponent-adjusted measure of college football efficiency” and “intended to be predictive and forward-facing.”
The offensive metric is much kinder to the Orange and Blue than the defensive metric. Offensively, the Gators are the 28th-best team in SP+, with a rating of 37.2. Defensively, Florida is the 70th-best team in SP+, with a rating of 27.7. With such contrasting numbers, the Gators’ final 2022 record of 6-7 (including their Las Vegas Bowl loss) makes perfect sense.
The stark difference in the rating properly explains Billy Napier’s first season in charge of the Orange and Blue. Offensively, the Gators were one of the best-rushing teams in the nation. Their three-headed monster of Montrell Johnson Jr., Trevor Etienne, and Anthony Richardson did their jobs behind a talented offensive line led by consensus first-team All-American guard O'Cyrus Torrence. Both Richardson and Torrence have declared for the NFL draft. Etienne and Johnson Jr. are expected to be the backbone of the Gators’ offensive identity in 2023.
Florida’s defensive ranking accurately represents the journey the unit took over the course of the season. Sometimes, the defense looked lost and confused. Other times, the defense was locked in and determined to get off the field. They even recorded at least one turnover in all 12 games this season
After their Las Vegas Bowl loss to Oregon State, the Gators turned their attention to the transfer portal and recruiting to continue building the roster in Napier’s image. With over 25 players leaving the program via the NFL draft and the transfer portal, expect to see many new faces in Gainesville in 2023.
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