Opinion: Georgia and Alabama Fall, and Florida's Upset in Austin Just Got Bigger

Opinion. This is analysis and commentary from GatorStandard, not news reporting. Scores are from ESPN as of 7:19 PM ET. The new AP and Coaches polls come out Sunday, and every ranking projection below is our take, not a fact.

What a Saturday to be a Gator.

At lunchtime, Florida went into Austin and beat No. 7 Texas 27-24 behind Tramell Jones Jr. in his first career start. By dinner, Auburn had gone into Sanford Stadium and knocked off No. 1 Georgia 27-24, on an Alex McPherson 34-yard field goal with two seconds left, per ESPN's game data. Then No. 14 Tennessee beat No. 6 Alabama 26-10 in Knoxville, final.

The top of the SEC got a lot less scary today. And the team that started the day unranked might have had the best Saturday of anybody in the league.

Florida's résumé just got better while it sat on the bus

Here's what Gator fans should be shouting at every poll voter: Florida already beat Auburn. The Gators won 44-39 at Jordan-Hare on Sept. 19. That's the same Auburn team that just took down the No. 1 team in the country on its own field.

It goes further. Florida beat Ole Miss 52-28 in The Swamp on Sept. 26. Today No. 9 Ole Miss took apart No. 13 Missouri 31-3. And now there's a road win over a Texas team that was No. 1 until last week. That's three SEC wins over teams that look better every week.

Let's be honest about the other side, too. Florida lost 45-17 at Missouri and 38-19 at home to South Carolina. Voters remember those games. That's why the Gators came into today outside both polls. They got 9 points in the AP poll, seventh among teams receiving votes, and 32 points in the Coaches Poll, eighth among teams receiving votes.

Where we think the Gators land Sunday

Count the ranked teams that lost today: No. 1 Georgia, No. 5 Indiana (19-15 at home to No. 4 Ohio State), No. 6 Alabama, No. 7 Texas, No. 13 Missouri and No. 16 Mississippi State, which lost 31-0 at No. 22 LSU. That's six spots scrambling at once, and some of the teams that won got hurt anyway. ESPN's game recap says Ohio State lost starting quarterback Julian Sayin for several weeks with an injured right arm.

Our projection: Florida is back in both polls on Sunday. A 5-2 team that just won on the road against a top-10 opponent with its backup quarterback is exactly what voters reward. We'd expect the Gators somewhere in the high teens to low 20s. If voters give the Auburn and Ole Miss wins the credit they've earned, Florida could climb even higher.

Georgia shouldn't fall far. Losing a one-score game on a last-second kick isn't a collapse, and we'd expect the Bulldogs to stay in the top 10. Alabama losing by double digits in Knoxville is different. Expect the Tide to drop harder, and expect Tennessee to make a big jump.

The night isn't over, either. No. 15 Kentucky, a future Florida opponent, is at Oklahoma, another one. Notre Dame is at BYU in a matchup of top-10 unbeatens, No. 3 Miami leads Florida State 7-0 in the first quarter, and No. 18 Oklahoma State is at No. 20 Houston. Every upset tonight could open another spot.

The SEC race is wide open

Per ESPN's SEC standings, Georgia is still on top at 4-1 even after the loss. Ole Miss, Kentucky and Tennessee are 3-1, and Alabama falls to 3-2, level with Florida. Florida is 3-2 with four league games left: Georgia in Atlanta on Oct. 31, Oklahoma at home on Nov. 7, Kentucky on the road on Nov. 14 and Vanderbilt at home on Nov. 21.

Two conference losses means Florida needs help to reach the SEC Championship Game. But the Gators get to make some of that help themselves. Beat Georgia and Kentucky, and the teams Florida is chasing pick up losses in head-to-head games. After a day like today, nobody in this league should feel safe.

And yes, the Playoff conversation

This year's field is still 12 teams, and the committee's first rankings won't come out until November. Nobody's printing playoff tickets for a two-loss team in mid-October. But if Florida runs the table against Georgia, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Vanderbilt and Florida State, it finishes 10-2 with wins over Texas, Georgia, Ole Miss and Auburn. Our take: that's a résumé the committee would have a hard time leaving out.

Now comes Georgia

Florida gets a bye next week, then faces Georgia in Atlanta on Oct. 31 at 3:30 p.m. ET. Georgia will spend the next two weeks hearing about Auburn. Florida will spend them healing up and getting Jones another two weeks of first-team reps.

Today's win in Austin was already Florida's highest-ranked road win since 2009. Thanks to Auburn and Tennessee, it now carries a lot more weight than anyone expected this morning.

Go Gators.