Florida football stumbled in its fifth game under head coach Jon Sumrall, earning its first loss of the 2026 campaign with a 45-17 bludgeoning at the hands of the Missouri Tigers at Faurot Field. Nothing went right for the Gators, who floundered on offense and were embarrassed on defense on Saturday.

Following the gut-check loss, the Orange and Blue were demoted seven spots in ESPN's college football power rankings to No. 14. Florida now sits between No. 13 Texas Tech and No. 15 Missouri, the latter of whom just humiliated them in Week 5.

"The Gators learned they have to rely on much more than running back Jadan Baugh to win games this season in a 45-17 loss at Missouri," UF alumnus Andrea Adelson begins.

"Winning in Columbia has proved to be challenging for Florida, and that was no different Saturday. Baugh came into the game averaging 150 rushing yards. But after a 12-yard gain on his first carry, he had 1 yard on 11 rushes after that as the Tigers' defense swarmed to contain him," she continued.

"Without an effective run game, Aaron Philo struggled in the pass game. Playing without injured Vernell Brown III did not help, either. Florida scored 17 points after averaging 53.5 points in its first four games. Meanwhile, Mizzou exposed the defense — finishing with a 300-yard passer and 200-yard rusher."

Next up, Florida returns to the Swamp to host South Carolina for its annual homecoming game on Saturday, Oct. 10. The action kicks off early with a 12:45 p.m. ET start time and the game will be televised on the SEC Network.

SEC schools in ESPN's power rankings after Week 5

The SEC gained back a school and now has eight teams in ESPN's power rankings this week, headlined by top-ranked Texas, followed by Georgia (No. 2), Alabama (No. 4), LSU (No. 9), Ole Miss (No. 10), Florida (No. 14), Missouri (No. 15), Mississippi State (No. 17) and Tennessee (No. 20).

ESPN's college football power rankings after Week 5

  1. Texas Longhorns
  2. Georgia Bulldogs
  3. Miami Hurricanes
  4. Alabama Crimson Tide
  5. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
  6. Ohio State Buckeyes
  7. Indiana Hoosiers
  8. BYU Cougars
  9. LSU Tigers
  10. Ole Miss Rebels
  11. Utah Utes
  12. Oregon Ducks
  13. Texas Tech Red Raiders
  14. Florida Gators
  15. Missouri Tigers
  16. UCLA Bruins
  17. Mississippi State Bulldogs
  18. Oklahoma State Cowboys
  19. USC Trojans
  20. Tennessee Volunteers
  21. Pittsburgh Panthers
  22. Boise State Broncos
  23. Iowa Hawkeyes
  24. Houston Cougars
  25. Duke Blue Devils

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This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: ESPN demotes Florida in college football power rankings after Week 5

Source: Yahoo Sports