Florida Gators climb to No. 9 in the AP Top 25

Last week, the AP Top 25 Poll had the Florida Gators slide from their No. 8 preseason ranking into the No. 11 spot.

No, their victory over the Miami Hurricanes wasn't spectacular, but they came up victorious in a well-fought game against an ACC opponent in "Week Zero". A drop in the rankings wasn't unexpected, but when Notre Dame played similarly against an opponent like Louisville and hopped the Gators in the poll, the slide became questionable.

But now, that slide matters not. Florida has been rewarded with a top 10 spot in the Week 3 AP Top 25 following their shutout home-opener against the UT-Martin Skyhawks.

Behind quarterback Feleipe Franks' 92.6 completion percentage, the Gators were able to give young players some valuable reps against their FCS opponent. True freshmen cornerbacks Kaiir Elam, Jaydon Hill, Chester Kimbrough, and pass rusher Khris Bogle did not disappoint.

Florida will now travel to Lexington, KY to take on the Kentucky Wildcats. In their victory over Eastern Michigan last night, Wildcats QB Terry Wilson suffered a left leg that "doesn't look good", according to head coach Mark Stoops.

Will the Gators carry their momentum off of Saturday's victory to get their revenge on Kentucky for breaking Florida's 31-game win streak over the Wildcats?

Florida remains the fifth-highest ranked SEC team, behind Alabama (No. 2), Georgia (no. 3), LSU (No. 6), and Auburn (No. 8). Texas A&M fell from No. 12 to No. 16 following their loss to the first-ranked Clemson Tigers.