Gators Tumble in the AP Top 25 Rankings

The Florida Gators slipped to No. 16 in the AP Top 25 on Sunday after an unimpressive Week Five performance against the Missouri Tigers.

“I am freaking livid over the fact that we just did that,” Gators head coach Jon Sumrall said after the loss. “I told the guys in the locker room, anybody that’s comfortable with that, come see me tonight. We ain’t moving forward like this."

It is hardly a surprise to see Florida tumble as many spots as they did. Missouri controlled the game from start to finish on both offense and defense.

Missouri held them to a season low in points and yards on offense. Despite entering the game averaging more than 50 points per game, the Gators' offense managed only 17 points. It also had 325 total yards, including 42 rushing yards.

Maybe the biggest takeaway from Saturday was how quiet Gator running back Jadan Baugh was. He carried the ball 12 times for 13 yards. A complete flip from the previous four games, where he had at least 100 yards in all four.

The Tigers also scored the most points this season on the Gators' defense. The Tigers' offense scored 45 points and recorded 560 total yards against the Gators' defense.

The trio of quarterback Austin Simmons, running back Jamal Roberts and receiver Cayden Lee caused the defense many problems. Simmons threw for 340 yards and two touchdowns. Roberts rushed for 211 yards and three touchdowns. Lee had eight catches for 110 yards.

Florida is now 4-1 on the year and 2-1 in the conference. It is a tough blow for the Gators, who were fresh off a resume-building win over the Ole Miss Rebels. For Sumrall, though, he feels his team has not performed to its best ability in the five games this season.

“We haven't looked like a complete football team at any moment to me yet," he said. "So, I think, sometimes the record, like having not lost, or maybe sometimes beating a team that was ranked at a certain spot, can make people feel like you've arrived or you've done something."

Now the Gators' attention turns to the South Carolina Gamecocks. The Gamecocks have struggled in 2026, finding themselves at the bottom of the SEC. They are 2-3 and 0-3 in the SEC.

They were close to logging their first conference win this season on Saturday against Kentucky. However, the Gamecocks collapsed in the second half, losing 35-34 in overtime to the Wildcats.

Florida hosts South Carolina on Saturday, October 10 at 12:45 p.m.

Enjoy our content? Make Florida Gators on SI a Preferred Source to see more stories from us on Google: https://www.google.com/preferences/source?q=si.com

Add us as a preferred source on Google