stripes361
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5 |
My placement of Florida at #5 drew questions last week so a couple notes: 1) FPI has them ranked 7th, behind my current Top 4, Alabama, and Auburn. Obviously, the ranking of Florida above Alabama and Auburn isn't the controversial part. They have an FPI edge on the other serious contenders for the #5 spot. SP+ does have Utah and Oklahoma higher but I've deferred to FPI on this one. 2) Coaching and QB play are big factors for me and I am very high on both for UF, especially with Dan Mullen. I'd give them the slight edge over Baylor in those departments and think they're at least even with if not above Utah as well. 3) Balance. The team most people probably want to see here would be the Sooners, who have the best overall computer rating of the other popular contenders (OU, Utah, Baylor) and the coaching and QB play to stack up to the Gators. The issue is that OU's defense is ranked outside the Top 40 by both FPI and SP+, whereas Florida has both a Top 15 offense and Top 15 defense in both. In tight races between teams, I like to err on the side of the more balanced team. |