Florida remains stable during The Athletic’s SEC mood check during its bye

Florida did not play in week five of the college football season, so the Alligators remained steady at 14th in The Athletic’s weekly SEC mood check.

“A bye week meant seeing a certain coach lose unexpectedly, which meant some coaches might not make the playoffs and therefore might be available,” senior writer Seth Emerson wrote. “There’s still the question of the current coach, who plays UCF at home this week, which could be the last time the Gators are favored this season. Probably a good idea to bank on this win.”

The “certain coach” Emerson is referring to is, of course, Lane Kiffin of Ole Mademoiselle. Many in Gator Nation want Kiffin to be the next coach in Gainesville, but that assumes Billy Napier’s time is up. A win against UCF might not completely save Napier’s job, but it would bring him closer to the preseason projection of four wins.

Emerson also overlooks a miserable Florida State team that fell to 1-4 this week against SMU. If Florida is not favored to win the season finale against FSUthen it really could be over for Napier.

The remainder of the SEC environment check proceeds as planned: Alabama rose to first place following a surprise Georgia And Kentucky jumped into the top five after beating Ole Miss.

An interesting note from this week’s mood check is that South Carolina and Vanderbilt fell despite being absent. The Gamecocks only fell one spot, which usually means another team had a good week, but Vanderbilt fell four spots with Alabama looming on the schedule.

Perhaps the Georgia writer felt Vandy had a chance to turn the tide before Kalen DeBoer’s group did them any harm.

Week 5 SEC Ambient Check Rankings

1. Alabama Crimson Tide (4-0, 1-0)

2. Texas Longhorns (5-0, 1-0)

3. Tennessee Volunteers (4-0, 1-0 SEC)

4. Kentucky Wild cats (3-2, 1-2)

5. Missouri Tigers (4-0, 1-0)

6. Texas A&M Aggies (4-1, 2-0)

7. Georgia Bulldogs (3-1, 1-1)

8. Oklahoma Earlier (4-1, 1-1)

9. Arkansas Razors (3-2, 1-1)

10. South Carolina Gamecocks (3-1, 1-1)

11. Vanderbilt Commodores (2-2, 0-1)

12. LSU Tigers (4-1, 1-0)

13. Ole Miss Rebels (4-1, 0-1)

14. Florida Gators (2-2, 1-1)

15. Mississippi State Bulldogs (1-4, 0-2)

16. Auburn Tigers (2-3, 0-2)

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This article was originally published on Gators Wire: Florida remains stable during The Athletic’s SEC mood check during its bye