Florida vs. LSU: How Gators' Loss Impacts AP Rankings, CFP Picture

The No. 8 Florida Gators suffered their first loss of the season—35-28 against the No. 6 LSU Tigers in the throes of Death Valley on Saturday—but are by no means out of the College Football Playoff hunt.

Florida and LSU entered Saturday as the SEC’s only undefeated teams, and the Gators still have a clear path to the conference title game with a one-game lead in the East Division.

Should Florida run the table and win the conference crown with just one loss—as Tony Barnhart of CBS Sports noted—it would almost assuredly be selected among the final four. 

Andy Staples of Sports Illustrated wrote the following: “The Gators shouldn’t be too discouraged, though. They have a bye week before facing Georgia in Jacksonville, Florida, on Oct. 31. If Florida wins that game, the Gators would need to beat only Vanderbilt or South Carolina to clinch the SEC East title.”

Because the Gators’ lone loss was by only a touchdown to a Top 10 team in one of college football’s most hostile environments—and with a backup quarterback—they likely won’t fall far in the Associated Press Top 25. Two teams close behind them each lost, the No. 9 Texas A&M Aggies and No. 12 Michigan Wolverines, which will probably plant the Gators just outside the Top 10.

Meanwhile, four of the five teams ahead of LSU won in Week 7 (the No. 4 Utah Utes are currently playing the Arizona State Sun Devils). LSU could crack the Top Five if voters value its win Saturday more than those of other top teams, such as the No. 5 Clemson Tigers' 34-17 victory over the unranked Boston College Eagles.

Florida opened the season unranked and didn’t crack the Top 25 until Week 5. But the Gators proved Saturday they are legitimate and should be favored the rest of the way—a season finale against the No. 11 Florida State Seminoles possibly notwithstanding.

The teams ahead of Florida all have potential losses ahead as well. Clemson will play Florida State. The No. 7 Michigan State Spartans will play the No. 1 Ohio State Buckeyes. LSU will face the No. 10 Alabama Crimson Tide and Texas A&M. The No. 2 Baylor Bears will meet the No. 3 TCU Horned Frogs. 

So there’s room for upward mobility as long as the Gators keep winning.