Reported Analysis · 2026 Week 6
Florida Fell on All 70 Ballots, Then Disappeared From 66
The Gators’ two losses produced different poll responses. Unanimously lower placements gave way to an exit that reached even their former top-10 supporters.
Florida still appeared on every AP ballot after its 45–17 loss at Missouri. A week later, after a 38–19 loss to South Carolina, 66 of those same voters left the Gators out entirely.
That sequence separates two kinds of decline. In the October 4 poll, all 70 voters lowered Florida but kept it in their Top 25. In the October 11 edition, only four retained it, and all four put it lower again. The panel was identical across both weeks and the September 27 poll, when Florida ranked eighth.
All 70 Retained Florida After the Missouri Loss
Following Florida’s October 3 loss at Missouri, the Gators lost 581 points and eight places in the aggregate rankings. They fell from No. 8 to No. 16, but inclusion remained unanimous. The change came entirely from lower numbered placements.
| Poll Date | AP Rank | Points | Ranked Ballots |
|---|---|---|---|
| September 27 | 8 | 1,272 | 70 of 70 |
| October 4 | 16 | 691 | 70 of 70 |
| October 11 | Not Ranked | 9 | 4 of 70 |
The October 10 loss to South Carolina preceded a much broader withdrawal. Florida lost another 682 points and dropped out of the aggregate Top 25. Its nine remaining points all came from placements between 23rd and 25th.
Former Top-15 Supporters Joined the Exit
The removals extended well beyond voters who had barely included Florida. All three who ranked the Gators in their top ten on October 4 omitted them on October 11. So did 24 of the 28 who had placed Florida in their top 15.
The four remaining voters had all put Florida between 13th and 15th a week earlier. Brian Howell and Pat Welter moved the Gators to 23rd; Jerry Humphrey ranked them 24th and Michael Katz put them 25th.
| Voter | October 4 | October 11 | Current Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brian Howell | 14 | 23 | 3 |
| Jerry Humphrey | 13 | 24 | 2 |
| Michael Katz | 15 | 25 | 1 |
| Pat Welter | 15 | 23 | 3 |
AP awards 25 points for first, falling to one for 25th, with zero for an omission. The 66 removed votes had supplied 644 points the previous week. Lower placements on the four surviving ballots cost another 38. Together, those changes account for the full 682-point loss; removals supplied 94.4% of it.
The Breadth of Florida’s Exit Stands Out
Florida lost more inclusions than any other team this week. Oregon lost 48 and Pitt lost 42. LSU fell twelve places, from No. 10 to No. 22, but lost only fourteen included ballots. A steep drop in aggregate rank can still leave a team on most voters’ lists; Florida’s left it on almost none.
After Missouri, Florida retained a foundation of unanimous inclusion even as its high placements vanished. That foundation has now gone too. Restoring the Gators’ former support would require winning back voters across much of the panel, including people who had recently considered them a top-15 team.
Sources & Methodology
Poll Behavior’s published AP football ballots: September 27, October 4 and October 11. Each panel contains 70 complete 25-team ballots, with the same voters throughout the comparisons used here.
Points equal 26 minus each numbered rank; omitted teams contribute zero points and are not assigned a numerical rank. Inclusion counts voters who rank the team. Aggregate ranks and points come from each dated poll.
Florida’s official game centers establish the Missouri result, October 3, and South Carolina result, October 10. Removal and continuing-placement point changes are calculated separately. Inclusion losses for other teams compare the same October 4 and October 11 panel.