Florida Falls Flat In BCS Top 25
MIAMI (CBSMiami.com) – The attention of the college football world will be on Tuscaloosa this week for this year's version of the battle of the century between Alabama and LSU.
But, there's also news in the BCS standings that makes it hard to be a resident of the Sunshine State and be an excited college football fan at the same time.
Not a single school from the state of Florida was ranked in the BCS top 25 released Sunday. Looking at the human polls, Florida State was closest to getting into the Top 25 in the AP and coaches polls.
The Seminoles have amassed a 5-3 record on the season, following Saturday's shellacking of North Carolina State.
But, the Noles were expected to be a top 5 team at the beginning of the season. It's been a rapid fall for the Noles, but the team can still win out and have a 9-3 record at the end of the season.
Standing in the Seminoles' way will be the other two major programs from the state of Florida, the Miami Hurricanes and the Florida Gators.
The Hurricanes were due for a bad season after the Nevin Shapiro scandal erupted shortly before the 2011 campaign began. Still, the Hurricanes have played inspired football and lost two heartbreakers to Va. Tech and Kansas State.
Overall, the Canes are 4-4 on the season and play Duke, Florida State, USF, and Boston College in the next month. Miami can win at least two of those games and likely three of them.
That would give the Canes a 7-5 record on the season and at least make them bowl eligible.
The Florida Gators have been decimated by injuries at the quarterback position and are undergoing a switch to a pro-style offense from former head coach Urban Meyer's run-first spread attack.
The Gators started the season 4-0 before getting mauled by Alabama and LSU in consecutive weeks. The Gators followed that up with a dismal performance against Auburn and lost the annual battle with Georgia, 24-20, last weekend.
The Gators finish their season with Vanderbilt, South Carolina, Furman, and Florida State. The Gators will beat Furman easily and should be able to dispose of Vanderbilt.
That would make the Gators bowl eligible, and an upset of South Carolina and/or Florida State will only improve their bowl positioning.
But, instead of competing for national championships, only the Seminoles have an outside shot of winning their conference. It's a hard fall for the state of Florida, but one that will be rewarded soon.
Both Florida State and Florida are putting together top 5 recruiting classes. It will be FSU's second straight top 5 class and the Noles are in a position to do a lot of damage next season.
Florida will also be well positioned with another full off-season to work on the little things killing the Gators this season.
