re: Most times met as AP ranked opponents

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Time of year when teams play also affects rankings. Some rankings are earned, others at times early in the season are given by name recognition.

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Friend and I were just discussing. Florida/LSU and Florida/Tennessee are on there but no Florida/UGA which is one of the SECs premier rivalries (duh). I think a few factors are obviously UF wasn't elite until the 90s but also the WLOCP isn't played until either the last month of the season or the last weekend in october whereas Florida plays both Tennessee and LSU very early in the season when they're most likely to still hold a preseason ranking. So you're right, opponents that are faced earlier in the season are more likely to have more ranked matchups at gametime especially if it's a premier brand.