Florida projected to crack first AP Top 25 poll of 2026 season

The preseason edition of the AP Top 25 will be released on Monday, and ahead of the AP’s first poll of the 2026 campaign, CBS Sports writer Chip Patterson predicts that Florida football will be among the top schools on the ballot.

In Patterson’s projections, the Gators land at No. 22, between No. 21 Iowa and No. 23 Missouri.

“The hire of Jon Sumrall was going to give some pop to Florida’s ranking potential, as his success at Troy and Tulane has paved the path for him to rise as one of the stars in the coaching industry. Now a ball coach who has won championships in two different conferences gets his crack at the big time with a program that expects championship contention at the national level,” Patterson states.

“The Gators did not finish inside the top 25 of the Coaches Poll, but after landing at No. 22 in the CBS Sports 138 we’re projecting the media bias continues to bend his way with the AP voters. Florida did a good job of retaining some talented pieces from last year’s team while also supplementing through the portal to field a group that will make the Gators dangerous to every SEC opponent.”

Last year, Florida was ranked No. 15 in the opening salvo of the AP Top 25, moving up to No. 13 after a 55-0 thrashing of LIU in Week 1. However, things quickly fell apart following an 18-16 home loss to USF in Week 2, which resulted in the Gators being dropped from the top 25 — a status that would remain for the rest of the season.

This year, Sumrall and Co. face FAU and Campbell at home in the first two games before hitting the road to face Auburn to open up the SEC schedule. If Florida fails to prevail in its first two games, things could get ugly in Gainesville again.

The Orange and Blue are one of 10 SEC schools to make the cut, joining Texas (No. 3), Georgia (No. 6), Oklahoma (No. 8), Ole Miss (No. 9), Texas A&M (No. 10), LSU (No. 12), Alabama (No. 13), Tennessee (No. 18) and Missouri (No. 23) among the projected top 25.

CBS Sports’ projected preseason AP Top 25 rankings

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This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Florida projected to crack first AP Top 25 poll of 2026 season

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