Florida cracks Athlon's college football re-rank top 25 after Week 1

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The 2026 campaign started on a high note for Florida football, which began the Jon Sumrall era with a 45-point thrashing of FAU inside Ben Hill Griffin Stadium last Saturday. The victory impressed the sports media enough to boost the Gators in many of their rankings.

Among them is Athlon Sports, which included the Orange and Blue among the top 25 in its first regular-season re-rank, placing Sumrall and Co. right at No. 25. That lands them just behind 24th-ranked Iowa and ahead of the 26th-ranked South Carolina.

The Southeastern Conference, which saw every member school emerge victoriously in Week 1 for the first time since 1997, had nine teams land among the top 25, with two — South Carolina and Missouri — just missing the cut at Nos. 26 and 27, respectively.

Georgia leads the way at No. 2, followed by Texas (No. 3), LSU (No. 8), Oklahoma (No. 9) and Texas A&M (No. 10) to round out the top 10. The remaining top 25 SEC schools are Ole Miss (No. 11), Alabama (No. 14), Tennessee (No. 20) and Florida (No. 25).

Florida will face an FCS opponent in the Campbell Fighting Camels on Saturday, Sept. 12, in the Swamp before starting its SEC schedule. Kickoff is slated for 5:30 p.m. ET and the game will be broadcast on the SEC Network+.

Athlon Sports' college football re-rank after Week 1

  1. Ohio State
  2. Georgia
  3. Texas
  4. Notre Dame
  5. Indiana
  6. Oregon
  7. Miami
  8. LSU
  9. Oklahoma
  10. Texas A&M
  11. Ole Miss
  12. Texas Tech
  13. USC
  14. Alabama
  15. BYU
  16. Washington
  17. Penn State
  18. Houston
  19. Utah
  20. Tennessee
  21. SMU
  22. Louisville
  23. Boise State
  24. Iowa
  25. Florida

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This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Florida cracks Athlon's college football re-rank top 25 after Week 1

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