RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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ESPN's Football Power Index following Week 0 of the 2026 season saw some slight changes for the Florida Gators , who gained a spot among the top 25 in the rankings as the program prepares to begin the Jon Sumrall era.
The FPI measures team strength and is meant to be the best predictor of a team's performance for the rest of the season; it shows how many points above or below average a team is. Each team is assigned a rating that measures its true strength on a net points scale as well as expected point margin versus an average opponent on a neutral field.
Projected results are based on 20,000 simulations of the season using FPI and the schedule. Here is a look at how Florida's numbers shake out.
Where Florida football ranks in ESPN's preseason FPI
The Gators land at No. 17 in ESPN's FPI rankings after Week 0 — up one spot from the preseason rankings — with a rating of 13.6. That puts them between the No. 16 Penn State Nittany Lions (13.7) and No. 18 USC Trojans (13.4), the latter of whom won their season opener against the San Jose State Spartans on Saturday, but still fell from their previous ranking of No. 13.
The FPI still predicts Florida to finish this fall's regular-season schedule with a 6.7-5.3 record with a 0% chance of winning out. The chances of finishing with six wins or more rose slightly to 71.7%, while the odds of winning the conference moved up a tenth of a percent to 2.1%. The Gators now have a 15.4% chance of making the College Football Playoff, a 1.8% chance of reaching the national championship game and a 0.7% chance of bringing home the title.
Football Power Index preseason top 25 rankings
Ohio State Buckeyes (28.7)
Texas Longhorns (26.9)
Notre Dame Fighting Irish (25.9)
Oregon Ducks (25.3)
Georgia Bulldogs (24.8)
Indiana Hoosiers (23.1)
Miami Hurricanes (21.8)
Alabama Crimson Tide (20.1)
LSU Tigers (20.0)
Texas Tech Red Raiders (20.0)
Texas A&M Aggies (20.0)
Oklahoma Sooners (17.8)
Ole Miss Rebels (16.0)
Michigan Wolverines (15.9)
Tennessee Volunteers (15.1)
Penn State Nittany Lions (13.7)
Florida Gators (13.6)
USC Trojans (13.6)
Clemson Tigers (13.4)
BYU Cougars (13.1)
Missouri Tigers (12.2)
Auburn Tigers (12.0)
South Carolina Gamecocks (11.7)
SMU Mustangs (11.1)
Iowa Hawkeyes (10.6)
This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Florida moves up a spot in Football Power Index rankings after Week 0
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