Carter's Corner: Gators in AP Top 25 on at least 1 ballot; UCF fans dislike
Friday, August 17, 2018 | Football, Scott Carter
They'll only care if the teams are ranked at kickoff and what impact the outcome might have in the big picture.
OK, everyone but perhaps UCF fans.
Based on reaction this week, Knights supporters are likely to still be steaming at longtime college football reporter Brett McMurphy, a voter in the AP Top 25 poll. McMurphy revealed his preseason AP Top 25 this week on Twitter.
The poll is scheduled to be released at noon on Monday.
What's the big deal, you ask? While McMurphy does not have the Knights ranked – even after a 13-0 season, a self-proclaimed national championship and the return of quarterback McKenzie Milton – he has the Gators ranked No. 18 and FSU at 19th.
AP preseason poll will be released Monday. Here is my AP ballot*
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) August 15, 2018
Bama Clem Wisc Wash OhioSt UGA OU Stan MichSt PennSt Aub Mich USC ND WVU Miami MissSt UF FSU BC TCU Boise Utah Texas FAU
*Every fan base except Bama will hate my rankings
Like UCF, both Florida and FSU enter the 2018 season with first-year head coaches. However, the Gators finished 4-7 in 2017 and FSU stumbled to 7-6.
McMurphy's rankings prompted a tidal wave of responses on Twitter, something he is accustomed to recently following his reporting on the Zach Smith/Urban Meyer situation at Ohio State.
He joined Orlando Sentinel columnist Mike Bianchi's radio show on Friday to discuss his rankings, most notably why Florida is ranked and UCF is not.
"It's very simple and nobody is going to like this explanation. It's my opinion,'' he said. "That's all an AP poll is, it's an opinion. I could be right and I may be wrong. Obviously I generated some responses on Twitter. Unfortunately for UCF fans, I haven't been reading my Twitter responses for about the last week thanks to the Ohio State fan base.
"Florida was 4-7 last year, so why are they ranked now? Well, last year has absolutely nothing to do with this year. Each year is a separate year."
The Gators certainly hope that is the case in their first season under Dan Mullen. The Gators open the season Sept. 1 at home against Charleston Southern.
Whether McMurphy is an outlier among AP voters or the Gators open the season ranked won't be known until Monday.However, the late-summer talk-radio fodder sent me scurrying for all the significant preseason polls to see where the Gators landed in each.
I'm one of those veteran scribes who still enjoys picking up the annual college football guides that you see in the checkout line at the grocery story each summer.
Paging through the preseason rankings in those magazines, Athlon Sports has the Gators No. 17, Lindy's Sports has them No. 28 (out of 130 FBS programs) and Street & Smith's does not have UF ranked, only to finish third in the SEC East.
In the past two weeks, Sports Illustrated and ESPN The Magazine have released their 2018 college football issues, with SI not ranking the Gators in its top 20 and ESPN leaving them out of its top 25.
Of course, the Amway/USA Today Coaches Poll is the most prominent besides the AP Top 25. Florida did not make the top 25 in the coaches poll but was the second team outside looking in behind South Carolina. Meanwhile, CBSSports.com has Florida at 25th to start the season.
Based on the evidence listed, it's unlikely the Gators crack the AP Top 25 on Monday. Instead, they seem destined to be in the first five out.
That is unless more voters have the same outlook as McMurphy. If so, they might want to stay off Twitter for a while.
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