Is Florida bowl eligible? Closer look at Gators' postseason eligibility after Week 13
The Florida Gators beat the then-No. 9 Ole Miss Rebels 24-17 on Saturday as they improved to 6-5 overall and 4-4 in SEC play. It marked their second consecutive win against a ranked conference opponent after they defeated the then-No. 22 LSU Tigers 27-16 in Week 12.
The Gators have had an up-and-down season as they are just one of five SEC teams that have failed to enter the AP Top 25 Poll at any point of the year. Despite this, they have played the role of the conference's spoiler as they essentially ended two teams' College Football Playoff hopes in back-to-back weeks.
Here's a closer look at whether or not the recent upsets have been enough to earn Florida a berth to a bowl game.
Is Florida bowl eligible? Closer look at Gators' postseason eligibility after Week 13
The Florida Gators are officially bowl eligible after their 24-17 upset victory over the then-No. 9 Ole Miss Rebels. The Gators improved to 6-5 with the win, ensuring they will have a postseason game following the regular season. FBS teams must finish with at least six wins and a winning percentage of at least .500 to earn bowl eligibility, with only one win against an FCS opponent counting towards those numbers.
Florida's path to a bowl game was not always a sure thing as they had one of the most difficult schedules in the nation. The Gators began play with three straight home games. They suffered blowout losses to the Miami (FL) Hurricanes and Texas A&M Aggies, split up by a blowout victory over the FCS-level Samford Bulldogs.
While they bounced back with wins over the Mississippi State Bulldogs and UCF Knights, Florida fell to the Tennessee Volunteers in Week 7. They moved back over .500 with a victory over the Kentucky Wildcats, however, big losses to the Georgia Bulldogs and Texas Longhorns moved them to 4-5 with two ranked opponents remaining and little room for error.
While Billy Napier appeared to be coaching for his job, the Gators stepped up to the challenge. After beating the LSU Tigers and Ole Miss Rebels, Florida will have a chance to improve to 7-5 during their Week 14 rivalry matchup with the Florida State Seminoles.
Although that is not the result they hoped for, things could have been a lot worse considering eight of their 11 FBS-level opponents were ranked in the top 10 at some point this season.