Florida football falls sharply in ESPN's FPI ranking after Week 11 loss at Kentucky
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Week 11 was not kind to the Florida football program.
For the fourth time in five seasons, the Kentucky Wildcats prevailed over the Gators — this time a 38-7 thumping in Lexington that left the Orange and Blue stunned. The defense collapsed and DJ LAgway had to be replaced at quarterback halfway through the game — suffice it to say, there was no joy in Mudville on Saturday night.
The previous Saturday, Florida had traded punches with the Georgia Bulldogs in Jacksonville, keeping pace until a fourth-quarter rally pulled the Dawgs away from the Gators. Despite the loss, there were some moral victories to be taken away from the defeat.
That was not the case against Kentucky.
Some of the objective computer models had hung onto hope — to anthropomorphize the issue — for Florida, but taking a beating from a team that had just one SEC win in five tries coming in pulled the rug from under the Gators in ESPN’s Football Power Index this week.
Where Florida football ranks in ESPN’s FPI after Week 11
Last week’s FPI rankings had the Gators ranked 25th in the nation, up from a No. 27 ranking the previous week; this time around, Florida finds itself down 10 spots at No. 35 with an 8.5 overall rating — down 2.2 points from 10.7. That puts Florida between the No. 34 Cincinnati Bearcats and No. 36 Louisville Cardinals.
Florida was ranked 18th to start the season.
FPI now predicts an even 4.0-8.0 regular-season record, while maintaining a 3.4% chance of winning out; additionally, Florida’s chance of reaching the six-win mark fell from 21.9% to 3.4%. ESPN still gives the Gators an obvious 0% odds to win the conference and a 0% chance to make the College Football Playoff.
Football Power Index top 25 rankings after Week 11
- Ohio State Buckeyes
- Indiana Hoosiers
- Oregon Ducks
- Alabama Crimson Tide
- Notre Dame Fighting Irish
- Georgia Bulldogs
- Texas A&M Aggies
- Texas Longhorns
- Utah Utes
- USC Trojans
- Texas Tech Red Raiders
- Ole Miss Rebels
- Miami Hurricanes
- Oklahoma Sooners
- Tennessee Volunteers
- Vanderbilt Commodores
- BYU Cougars
- Michigan Wolverines
- Iowa Hawkeyes
- Missouri Tigers
- Penn State Nittany Lions
- LSU Tigers
- SMU Mustangs
- Auburn Tigers
- South Florida Bulls
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This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Florida football’s FPI ranking after Week 11 loss at Kentucky Wildcats
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