Florida makes massive jump in CBS Sports' preseason rankings

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Florida football was the biggest positive mover among teams spotlighted in CBS Sports' 138 rankings, jumping 49 spots from its 2025 final ranking of No. 71 into the top 25 at No. 22 ahead of 2026.

The Gators are the eighth SEC team in the top 25, following Georgia (No. 5), Oklahoma (No. 9), LSU (No. 10), Texas A&M (No. 11), Ole Miss (No. 12), Alabama (No. 13) and Tennessee (No. 17). Missouri trails the pack at No. 23 while Utah and Louisville follow Florida to round out the top 25.

The rankings are determined by ballots from CBS Sports and 247Sports experts, with voting continuing weekly once the season kicks off.

College football writer Chip Patterson credits Jon Sumrall's retention work and transfer portal acquisitions as a driving force in the dramatic change in outlook. Injuries and an impending coaching change were to blame for an underwhelming year in Billy Napier's final season. Last season's results were not a reflection of the talent Napier fielded in his final go at Ben Hill Griffin, so Sumrall inherits a war chest of weapons on both sides of the ball.

Sumrall has infused the program with optimism since his arrival late last year. Patters describes Florida as having "firm top-30 quality" ahead of their Sept. 5 opener against Florida Atlantic.

"Seeing Florida spiral a little bit with injury issues and an impending coaching change hurt the Gators' ranking at the end of last season, as no one truly believes that roster was the 71st-best roster in the country last season. However, the losses piled up, and Florida's ranking tanked, allowing for one of the biggest year-over-year adjustments in the rankings.

Jon Sumrall showed up and offered encouraging signs by retaining top talent from last year's squad while supplementing with solid portal additions, giving Florida a firm top-30 quality heading into 2026," Patterson wrote.

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This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Florida makes massive jump in CBS Sports' preseason rankings

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