I love how they assume 8 wins gets them playoff talk. If they win 8, that means more than half their schedule grossly underperformed and precipitously fall in the rankings, and their schedule strength looks entirely different after results are in
It's crazy on so many levels. First, he says it as a given, with no qualifications. Like "8-4 and we are in the playoffs". Then he qualifies the **** out of it, with all kinds of scenarios.
Then, you look at "history" and "precedent". So look at last year's Top 12:
1. Michigan
2. Washington
3. Texas
4. Alabama
5. F$U
6. Georgia
7. Ohio State
8. Oregon
9. Mizzou
10. Pedo State
11. Ole Miss
12. Oklahoma
Teams 8-12 had only TWO losses apiece.
Teams 13-18 had only THREE losses apiece.
Meaning, the absolute HIGHEST-RANKED 4-loss team last year was at #19. Not #12. Nope, it was #19.
Then, another guy says that The Gator would be "a lock" with only 3 losses, yet the HIGHEST-RANKED 3-loss team last year (LSU) was at #13.
Yet they think that magical wins over "the ACC champ" and "the Big 12 champ" will force the world to see them as "better" and "more deserving" of a ranking SEVEN SPOTS HIGHER. Over, presumably, teams with better W-L records. Because The Gator losses are more impressive than anyone else's losses.
Let's keep in mind that the Top 12 shown above is made up of 5 Big 10 teams (now) and 6 SEC teams (now). There are no flukey "Liberty" schools to crack the Top 12 with a 13-0 record against weak competition. And, sure, perhaps with Texas and Oklahoma and Washington and Oregon playing in new conferences, there could be more losses in that group above.
But come on, now. Look at the games The Gator could/should lose:
---Texas and Georgia - Texas was in the Final Four, and Georgia ARGUABLY should have been in the Final Four. Gator fans will see these two games as noble losses.
---Ole Miss, LSU, Tennessee, and F$U - Ole Miss was the #11 bowl playoff team last year, LSU was the #13 bowl playoff team, Tennessee was #21, and F$U was #5. F$U may have dropped off, but the game is in Doak. Tennessee might have lost last year, but this year's game is in Neyland.
So that's 6 losses right there. Now, Florida beat a team in the playoff Top 25 (Tennessee) that they play in 2024, but that's it. So they would need to pull off TWO major upsets against Top 25 teams to even get to 4 losses, and THREE major upsets to get to 3 losses.
---Miami, aTm, Mississippi State, Kentucky, UCF, Samford - these are the 6 games that The Gator assumes they will win. Keep in mind, they lost to Kentucky last year.
Yeah, THIS is the schedule against which The Gator thinks they can go 8-4 or 9-3 and DEFINITELY make the playoffs.
Hilarious.
www.pff.com
