Florida stays at No. 14 on The Athletic's SEC vibe check after beating UCF

Despite the “vibe” in Gainesville going up following a 24-13 win over UCF this weekend, the Florida Gators remain at No. 14 in the latest SEC vibe check rankings from The Athletic.

Maybe it’s because Georgia Bulldogs writer Seth Emerson compiled this list, but leaving Florida in the bottom three after so many other teams collapsed feels intentionally disrespectful. The copy also contains some heavy sarcasm.

“Billy Napier fights on! It does seem to just be delaying the inevitable, but hey, give credit where it’s due,” Emerson wrote, without giving much credit where it was supposedly due.

To rub some salt in the wound, Emerson has Auburn jumping up three spots to No. 13 — one place ahead of Florida — for seemingly no good reason.

“By scoring margin, it was Auburn’s worst loss of the season,” he wrote. “By actual performance, it was the best loss, validation that when this team doesn’t turn the ball over it can be halfway competitive.”

Got it. “Best losses” and “halfway competitive” are better than actual wins.

Emerson got some things right, though, like moving Vanderbilt into the top spot after a gargantuan upset of Alabama — after beating Georgia the week prior.

Texas A&M moving into the No. 2 spot seems right, too. If a 31-point victory over a top-10 team isn’t getting the vibes up, it’s hard to figure out what is.

It looks like Florida will have to do something mighty impressive to break into the top 10 at any point. If that happens, maybe The Athletic will provide some real analysis instead of cheap shots at Billy Napier. (Probably not, though.)

Week 4 SEC vibe check rankings

1. Vanderbilt Commodores (3-2, 1-1)
2. Texas A&M Aggies (5-1, 3-0)
3. Arkansas Razorbacks (4-2, 2-1)
4. Texas Longhorns (5-0, 1-0)
5. Ole Miss Rebels (5-1, 1-1)
6. Georgia Bulldogs (4-1, 2-1)
7. Alabama Crimson Tide (4-1, 1-1)
8. Tennessee Volunteers (4-1, 1-1)
9. Kentucky Wildcats (3-2, 1-2)
10. Oklahoma Sooners (4-1, 1-1)
11. LSU Tigers (4-1, 1-0)
12. Missouri Tigers (4-1, 1-1)
13. Auburn Tigers (2-4, 0-3)
14. Florida Gators (3-2, 1-1)
15. South Carolina Gamecocks (3-2, 1-2)
16. Mississippi State Bulldogs (1-4, 0-2)

The Gators head to Knoxville next week to resume Southeastern Conference play against the Tennessee Volunteers. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. ET and the game will be broadcast on ESPN.

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