The Gators got their second bye of the 2024 college football campaign in Week 9 as Florida prepares for its inter-state rivalry matchup with the Georgia Bulldogs — who also had a bye — in Jacksonville this coming weekend.
Meanwhile, the rest of the show continued on the collegiate gridiron, resulting in a few changes in the national standings. The Southeastern Conference, in particular, has had more twists than an M. Night Shyamalan movie this fall — and that once again was the case on Saturday.
However, despite sitting out the weekend on the sidelines, the Orange and Blue dropped a couple of spots in The Athletic writer Chris Vannini’s re-rank following Week 9.
Florida’s re-rank after Week 9
Vannini’s update has the Gators down from No. 46 last week to No. 48 following the bye. That puts them between the No. 47 Washington Huskies and No. 49 Oklahoma Sooners.
Compare that with USA TODAY Sports, which re-ranked Florida at No. 44 — one spot better than the previous week — and the CBS Sports re-rank, which has Napier and Co. at No. 50.
As far as fellow SEC schools are concerned, only Oklahoma (No. 49), the Auburn Tigers (No. 61), Kentucky Wildcats (No. 62) and Mississippi State Bulldogs (No. 98) are ranked lower.
The Athletic’s Week 9 Top 10 re-rank
The Oregon Ducks maintain their top perch in the rankings this week, followed by the Georgia Bulldogs, Penn State Nittany Lions, Ohio State Buckeyes and Miami Hurricanes, respectively, among the top five.
The Texas Longhorns stayed at No. 6, while the BYU Cougars and Tennessee Volunteers also maintained their Nos. 7 and 8 rankings, respectively. The Indiana Hoosiers enter the top 10 at No. 9 and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish take up the final spot.
Coming up for the Gators
Florida and Georgia face off for a Week 10 rivalry battle in Jacksonville on Saturday, Nov. 2 with kickoff slated for 3:30 p.m. ET. The pregame festivities will be featured on SEC Nation and the game will be broadcast on ABC.
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This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Week 9 bye results in slight drop for Florida in The Athletic’s re-rank
