Florida football: Gators control their destiny to make College Football Playoff

At 6-1 on the season, Florida football fully controls its College Football Playoff dreams.

Florida can not only make the College Football Playoff but controls its own destiny.

By defeating their biggest SEC East rival in Jacksonville in the Georgia Bulldogs, the Florida Gators essentially clinched the division shortly after Halloween. While they do have a blemish on their resume in a narrow road defeat vs. the Texas A&M Aggies, Florida is in a great position to go 9-1 in SEC play, reach the SEC Championship and make the College Football Playoff for the first time.

Florida’s College Football Playoff pathway for 2020

The Gators have three incredibly winnable games left on their season slate: Home vs. the Kentucky Wildcats on Nov. 28, at the Tennessee Volunteers on Dec. 5 and home vs. the LSU Tigers on Dec. 12. Florida would need to lose two of those three games for two-loss Georgia to have any shot of getting to Atlanta for the fourth year in a row. Too bad the Gators will be there instead.

When looking at their three remaining regular-season opponents, not a single one of them would be deemed a top-half SEC team this year. None are ranked and none play as consistently strong ball the likes of unranked teams like the Arkansas Razorbacks, the Missouri Tigers or the Ole Miss Rebels. If the Gators drop a game to either Kentucky, Tennessee or LSU, it would be a disaster.

Assuming all three remaining games are to be played, Florida will get to Atlanta with an impressive 9-1 regular-season record and a top-six ranking from the College Football Playoff Selection Committee. In short, if the Gators beat the Alabama Crimson Tide at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, they will make the playoff for the first time in school history.

The problem is Alabama may be the better team over the Gators. While Florida is a lock at this point to make a New Year’s Six Bowl game for the third year in a row, the Gators may not make it to either two that really matter this season in the Rose Bowl or the Sugar Bowl, the two national semifinal games. An undefeated Alabama may already have clinched a spot into the field.

Simply put, the Gators need to win their next four games to make the College Football Playoff. Though they have no margin for error, the pathway to getting in as a certain top-three seed is right in front of them. Florida does not need to do a thing than have one more point vs. their next four opponents to get in. A one-loss SEC Champion will be a top-three seed no matter what.

Florida must take it game-by-game to make the playoff for the first time in school history.

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