Florida fell two spots to No. 12 in The Athletic’s weekly SEC vibe check after losing quarterback DJ Lagway in a winnable game against Georgia that ended 34-20 in favor of the Bulldogs.
It’s hard to blame Seth Emerson for dropping the Gators a couple of spots, but he’s finally admitting that Billy Napier’s improvements as Florida continues to stay competitive with some of the best teams in the conference.
“Billy Napier seems to be maturing as a coach before our eyes, keeping his team competitive despite having to turn to a walk-on quarterback,” Emerson said. “And yet that brings us back to Napier as a program-builder and why he was left in that situation because it’s not like an SEC team has ever won with a walk-on quarterback and… wait I hear myself now too, sorry.”
The good news is Lagway’s injury isn’t as serious as initially feared, which means a return could come as early as next week against Texas. Even if Lagway’s not back to play in his home state this weekend, the more winnable games on the schedule come after that against LSU and Ole Miss.
Florida must win one of those two games and defeat Florida State in the season finale to secure bowl eligibility.
Week 10 SEC vibe check rankings
- Vanderbilt Commodores (6-3, 3-2 SEC)
- South Carolina Gamecocks (5-3, 3-3)
- Texas Longhorns (7-1, 3-1)
- Tennessee Volunteers (7-1, 4-1)
- Texas A&M Aggies (7-2, 5-1)
- Ole Miss Rebels (7-2, 3-2)
- Georgia Bulldogs (7-1, 5-1)
- Alabama Crimson Tide (6-2, 3-2)
- LSU Tigers (6-2, 3-1)
- Missouri Tigers (6-2, 2-2)
- Arkansas Razorbacks (5-4, 3-3)
- Florida Gators (4-4, 2-3)
- Mississippi State Bulldogs (2-7, 0-5)
- Oklahoma Sooners (5-4, 1-4)
- Kentucky Wildcats (3-6, 1-6)
- Auburn Tigers (3-6, 1-5)
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