Florida Fizzles – Not a Ray of Hope in the Sunshine State
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What on Earth has happened to college football in Florida? By Week 9 of the 2011 NCAA season, the once mighty gridiron state had not a single team left in the top 25.
Florida State, a pre-season #6 pick in the AP poll, was wallowing in the muck of a 4-3 start, which included a 2-2 ACC record. No one could blame the Seminoles for a 23-13 loss to #1 Oklahoma in Week 3. A 5-point loss to #21 Clemson in Week 4 could be forgiven, too. But to allow the lowly Demon Deacons of Wake Forest to walk away with a 35-30 win? Good-bye top 25.
Previously ranked Florida and South Florida have fallen, too. They both started 4-0, reaching high points in the AP Poll of #12 and #16, respectively, before sliding into the swamp of oblivion. The Gators dropped three in a row to ranked teams to stand at 2-3 in the SEC, while the Bulls bowed to three unranked conference opponents for a 0-3 Big East start.
And how about the U? Ever since the Hurricanes fell to Maryland 32-24 in their opener, they’ve never been a consideration. Like the Seminoles, Miami started just 4-3 overall and a miserable 2-2 in ACC play. Convincing wins over #17 Ohio State (24-6 in Week 3) and #22 Georgia Tech (24-7 in Week 
do not make up for losses to unranked Kansas State and Virginia Tech.
Also, don’t look to the smaller Florida football programs for salvation this season. The University of Central Florida had turned its 2-0 start into a 3-4 record by Week 8, ranking the Knights fourth out of six teams in Conference USA. Over in the Sun Belt Conference, Florida International jumped off to a 3-0 record before turning it into 4-3, including a pair of conference failures versus just one success.
By comparison, the Owls of Florida Atlantic make the rest of the state look pretty good. They got off to a rough start by losing their first two games to ranked opponents—#22 Florida by a score of 41-3 and #17 Michigan State 44-0. That set them on track for seven straight defeats, including another shutout at the hands of Western Kentucky in Week 7.
Taken as a group, the seven Florida schools have accumulated just 23 victories versus 27 defeats. Opportunities for redemption are becoming fewer, too, as none of the schools will be facing a current Top 10 opponent throughout the rest of the regular season.
Perhaps the most Floridians can hope for now are a few good bowl match-ups—assuming, of course, that a couple of Sunshine State teams can figure out how to win six games this season and become bowl eligible.
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