Nov 18, 2021 - Sports
Florida's football woes
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The Sunshine State is having a college football season to forget.
Driving the news: Entering Saturday, Florida's seven FBS programs are a combined 28-42. None are ranked, and just one has a winning record.
- UCF: 6-4
- Florida: 5-5
- Miami: 5-5
- FAU: 5-5
- Florida State: 4-6
- USF: 2-8
- FIU: 1-9
The big picture: Florida is a recruiting hotbed, and its schools have appeared in eight national title games in the BCS and CFP eras, tied with Alabama for the most of any state.
- But the three traditional powers — Florida, Florida State and Miami — have fallen behind in recent years, losing games they used to win and losing in-state recruits they used to land.
- The Gators are in shambles after barely beating FCS Samford, the Seminoles are likely headed for their fourth straight losing season, and the Hurricanes have vastly underperformed their preseason No. 12 ranking.
- Barring a miracle, all three schools will finish outside the top 25 for the first time since 1978. Heck, even UCF has fallen into mediocrity after emerging as a national power a few years ago.
The bottom line: Florida football has been fading for a few years. But not even the biggest haters saw this season going as badly as it has.
"In college football terms, this is as improbable as eating a bad meal in New Orleans or being unable to find a blackjack table in Las Vegas. You almost have to try to fail this dramatically."— Dan Wolken, USA Today
