Contender #22

Florida

SEC · 2026 preseason baseline

Projection

72.1

SP+ preseason

+14.9

Returning prod.

58%

Recruiting

89%

Head coach

★ new HC

2026 portal cycle

Net negative on talent-weighted flow.

−2.79z

talent-weighted z-score

applied: −0.56 pts

Top gains

  • 4★ WREric Singleton Jr. from Auburn
  • 3★ QBAaron Philo from Georgia Tech
  • 3★ CBKanye Clark from UCLA

Top losses

  • 4★ QBDJ Lagway to Baylor
  • 4★ RBTreyaun Webb to App State
  • 4★ WRAidan Mizell to UCLA

Portal moves are weighted by recruiting stars, position (QB and skill positions weighted higher), and eligibility. Withdrawn entrants are excluded. The z-score is normalized across teams appearing in the 2026 portal cycle. See the full portal leaderboard →

2025 season · final grade

The 2025 season, graded.

F CeilingD

Short of the projection.

Realized SP+ +3.5 · SP+ rank #63

Projection

73.1

Realized

55.0

Δ

−18.1

Δ grade

F

Ceiling SECONDARY

D

Projection vs realized

Realized 55.0 Projection 73.1

The yellow tick is Florida's August 13, 2025 preseason SP+ rating (+16.2) — the last preseason release before Week 1, from Bill Connelly / ESPN. The dark bar is the final 2025 SP+ (Connelly, post-championship). Both mapped to the 0–100 scale by score = 50 + SP+ × (50/35), clamped [1, 99]. The gap between them is Δ: −18.1. Δ banded A through F gives the letter grade.

What the grade means

An F means Florida finished 18 points or more below the projection (Δ −18.1). The projection has been informed.

Ceiling grade: D · secondary lens · 25% of downside headroom used. Δ divided by the room Florida had to move (upside if Δ is positive, downside if negative). Ceiling normalizes for projection height: a projection-90 team has 10 points of upside room, a projection-50 team has 50.

The letter grade always records the same relationship: realized minus projection, banded A through F. A team can sit in the Elite tier and still receive a D. LSU in 2025 is that case.

Read the methodology →

Offense (2025)

24.5

SP+ offensive rating

Defense (2025)

22.6

SP+ defensive rating (lower = better)

Nat'l SP+ rank

#63

Final 2025 SP+ ranking

2025 portal cycle (context)

Bottom of the cycle by talent-weighted net flow.

−3.53z

talent-weighted z-score

Top gains

  • 3★ QBHarrison Bailey from Louisville
  • 3★ EDGEKofi Asare from Massachusetts
  • 3★ WRJ.Michael Sturdivant from UCLA

Top losses

  • 4★ EDGEJack Pyburn to LSU
  • 4★ EDGET.J. Searcy to Texas A&M
  • 4★ CBJa'Keem Jackson to LSU

Portal moves are weighted by recruiting stars, position (QB and skill positions weighted higher), and eligibility. Withdrawn entrants are excluded. The z-score is normalized across teams appearing in the 2025 portal cycle (context).

Returning production (2025): 55% of prior-year PPA back on the field (Bill Connelly's percentPPA metric via CFBD). This is a narrative reference — the 2025 grade itself is Δ vs preseason SP+ only.