Florida's Chances of Making the CFP Lie With This Position Group
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The Florida Gators are one of the more trendy college football programs to be put on the list of dark horses to make the College Football Playoff this season.
Despite going 4-8 in 2025, new head coach Jon Sumrall has brought a lot of hype to the program in his first half-year with the program. Sumrall led Tulane to the CFP last season, and he's itching to make the postseason with Florida.
Still, the Gators have several questions all over the field. Will Georgia Tech transfer Aaron Philo or Tramell Jones Jr. win the starting quarterback job? Who will replace the three starting offensive linemen the Gators lost this offseason?
Can the front seven of the defense improve under Sumrall?
The Gators have talented, skilled players on offense with running back Jadan Baugh, expected to be a first-round pick in 2027, and an elite receiver corps.
Steven Lassan of Athlon Sports ranked Florida's receiver corps as the No. 8 in the nation during the preseason. They could be the key to keeping the Gators’ CFP hopes alive in November.
"Quarterback play is a question mark in Gainesville, as the battle between Aaron Philo and Tramell Jones Jr. will continue into fall practice," Lassan wrote. "However, the weapons around the winner of the quarterback competition aren’t in question.
"The Gators feature one of the SEC’s top receiver trios, as Eric Singleton transferred to Florida to play under his former Georgia Tech offensive coordinator (Buster Faulkner), while Dallas Wilson and Vernell Brown III are just scratching the surface of their potential."
In addition to those three players, there is some hype with a couple of transfers, who could give the Gators depth this fall.
"Wake Forest transfer Micah Mays had a breakout performance in the spring game and should team with Bailey Stockton (a Georgia Tech transfer) and TJ Abrams to round out the key contributors at receiver," Lassan wrote.
The Gators will need to lean on Baugh, but there's only so much the running game can do to keep up in the SEC. The Gators will need its receivers to make electric plays whenever the ball gets into their hands.
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