Gators crack top 20 in PFF preseason college football rankings
The college baseball season is officially over, which means it’s all about football now in the Swamp. There are many questions facing the Florida Gators in Year 2 under Billy Napier, but Pro Football Focus’ preseason Elo ranking still has Florida at No. 20 among all 131 teams heading into the 2023 season.
That begs the question: what’s an Elo ranking?
Many will know the system from playing chess, but an ELO ranking essentially rewards teams for wins and losses based on how fair the matchup is. That means that losses against tough opponents (Georgia, Alabama, etc.) aren’t as damaging as those against weaker opponents (Vanderbilt, G5 schools, etc.).
As usual, Florida faces an incredibly difficult schedule in 2023. The Southeastern Conference has established itself as the leading conference in the sport, and playing eight games a year against league opponents is grueling, to say the least.
Although Florida comes in at No. 20 overall, that’s only good enough for seventh-best in the SEC heading into the season.
“Florida is coming off its second-straight losing season, which hasn’t happened since the 1970s,” PFF’s Max Chadwick wrote. “The Gators also must replace quarterback Anthony Richardson, who was taken in the top five of the 2023 NFL Draft by the Indianapolis Colts. Wisconsin transfer Graham Mertz will be filling those shoes and is coming off a career-high 75.3 grade last season.”
Florida will receive an early test on the road against No. 15 Utah. That would be a good way to move up in these Elo rankings, especially before the conference schedule begins.
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