Gators No. 24 in First CFP Top 25 as Miami, Georgia Lead the Way

The first College Football Playoff rankings of the 2026 season are out, and the Florida Gators are in them, with everything still in front of them.

Florida (5-3) checked in at No. 24 in the selection committee's first Top 25, released Tuesday night. The Gators are one of 10 SEC teams in the rankings, the most of any conference.

Miami (8-0) took the No. 1 spot, followed by Georgia (7-1), Utah (8-0) and Indiana (8-1). Those four would earn the first-round byes if the playoff started today.

The rest of the top 12: No. 5 Alabama (6-2), No. 6 Kentucky (7-1), No. 7 Texas (6-2), No. 8 UCLA (8-0), No. 9 BYU (7-1), No. 10 Ole Miss (6-2), No. 11 Notre Dame (7-1) and No. 12 Ohio State (6-2). Because No. 25 Boise State (7-1) is the highest-ranked Group of Six team, the Broncos would take the 12th spot in the bracket, leaving Ohio State and No. 13 Tennessee as the first two teams out.

The SEC's 10 ranked teams: Georgia (2), Alabama (5), Kentucky (6), Texas (7), Ole Miss (10), Tennessee (13), LSU (14), Missouri (18), South Carolina (21) and Florida (24).

The rest of the Top 25: No. 14 LSU (6-2), No. 15 Texas Tech (7-1), No. 16 Wake Forest (7-1), No. 17 Houston (6-2), No. 18 Missouri (6-2), No. 19 Iowa (6-2), No. 20 USC (7-2), No. 21 South Carolina (5-3), No. 22 Arizona (6-2), No. 23 Oregon (5-3), No. 24 Florida (5-3) and No. 25 Boise State (7-1).

Florida's road is narrow, but it is real. The Gators host Oklahoma on Saturday at 7:45 p.m. ET on SEC Network, and a win there starts the climb. The committee releases new rankings every Tuesday night, with the final 12-team field announced Sunday, Dec. 6.

So where do you have them? Is No. 24 too low for a team that went into Austin and beat Texas? Tell us in the comments below.

ADVERTISEMENT

More from GatorBait: our Florida football coverage, schedule and the Florida vs. Oklahoma preview.

Source: College Football Playoff selection committee rankings via ESPN. Cover photo: Florida coach Jon Sumrall talks with officials against Georgia on Oct. 31 in Atlanta. Photo by Chris Spears, GatorBaitMedia.com