With Alabama staking claim to its third national title in the last four years on Monday night in Miami Gardens, FL, the only thing left to be determined for the 2012 season was how the final top 25 polls would shake out early Tuesday morning.
The Florida Gators, which entered the 2013 Sugar Bowl ranked No. 3 in the BCS and No. 4 in both the USA Today Coaches’ Poll and AP Top 25, were penalized severely for being upended by a Louisville Cardinals team listed in the bottom fifth of the rankings.
Florida checked in No. 10 in the final USA Today rankings, behind three other two-loss teams it defeated during 2012, and No. 9 in the last AP poll, one spot ahead of FSU.
For his team finishing in the top 10, Gators head coach Will Muschamp will receive a $50,000 bonus in addition to the $100,000 bonus he was already awarded for leading the team to a BCS bowl game berth.
Louisville subsequently finished No. 13 in both rankings, jumping up five spots in the former and nine in the latter.
Florida concluded the 2012 season with a 5-2 record against the top 25 teams in the nation. UF picked up victories over Texas A&M (No. 5/5), South Carolina (No. 7/8), Florida State (No. 8/10), LSU (No. 12/14) and Vanderbilt (No. 20/23) but fell to Georgia (No. 4/5) and Louisville (No. 13/13).
| Date | Gator Bait | Time/Score | TV/Rec. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9/4 | FAU | W 35-14 | 1-0 |
| 9/11 | at USF | W 42-20 | 2-0 |
| 9/18 | Alabama | L 39-41 | 2-1 |
| 9/25 | Tennessee | W 38-14 | 3-1 |
| 10/2 | at Kentucky | L 13-20 | 3-2 |
| 10/9 | Vanderbilt | W 42-0 | 4-2 |
| 10/16 | at LSU | L 42-49 | 4-3 |
| 10/30 | vs. Georgia Jacksonville | L 7-34 | 4-4 |
| 11/6 | at South Carolina | L 17-40 | 4-5 |
| 11/13 | Samford | W 70-52 | 5-5 |
| 11/20 | at Missouri | L(OT) 23-24 | 5-6 |
| 11/27 | Florida State | W 24-21 | 6-6 |
| 12/23 | vs. UCF Gasparilla | L 17-29 | 6-7 |
[EXPAND CLICK TO EXPAND and check out the final top 25 polls of the 2012 season.]USA TODAY COACHES POLL
This Week 1-5: Alabama (56), Oregon, Notre Dame, Georgia, Texas A&M
6-10: Stanford, South Carolina, Florida State, Clemson, Florida
11-15: Kansas State, LSU, Louisville, Boise State, Oklahoma
16-20: Northwestern, Utah State, Texas, Oregon State, Vanderbilt
21-25: San Jose State, Cincinnati, Nebraska, Northern Illinois, Tulsa
Last Week 1-5: Notre Dame (56), Alabama (3), Oregon, Florida, Georgia
6-10: Kansas State, LSU, Stanford, Texas A&M, South Carolina
11-15: Oklahoma, Florida State, Clemson, Oregon State, Boise State
16-20: Northern Illinois, Northwestern, Louisville, UCLA, Utah State
21-25: Nebraska, Michigan, Wisconsin, San Jose State, Texas
ASSOCIATED PRESS TOP 25
This Week 1-5: Alabama (59), Oregon, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Georgia/Texas A&M
7-10: Stanford, South Carolina, Florida, Florida State
11-15: Clemson, Kansas State, Louisville, LSU, Oklahoma
16-20: Utah State, Northwestern, Boise State, Texas, Oregon State
21-25: San Jose State, Northern Illinois, Vanderbilt, Michigan, Nebraska
Last Week 1-5: Notre Dame (60), Alabama, Ohio State, Florida, Oregon
6-10: Georgia, Kansas State, Stanford, LSU, Texas A&M
11-15: South Carolina, Oklahoma, Florida State, Clemson, Oregon State
16-20: Northern Illinois, UCLA, Utah State, Michigan, Boise State
21-25: Northwestern, Louisville, Nebraska, San Jose State, Kent State
* Numbers in parenthesis represent first-place votes.[/EXPAND]
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