Look, I know he had the goal-line fumble at the spring game. But we’ll assume he’ll have that corrected and will start when the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors come to town.

Obviously, no Gator tailback has won the award. Emmitt was always in the discussion, but he really wasn’t there. Blame mediocre Florida teams and a merry-go-round of offensive coordinators for that. But why has this trend occurred? Class, let’s look at Gator football, circa mid-1960s.

The Ole Ball Coach is the starting QB for the team, coached by Ray Graves. With his accomplishments in a very wide variety of sports before coming to UF, he provides a precursor to Tim Tebow 40 years later. Some lab coat types interested in exercise physiology have invented a cocktail of water, salt, sugar, and electrolytes designed to stop muscle cramping and dehydration; they strike a deal with Stokely Van Camp, and the Gatorade marketing machine is born.

But in spite of Steve Spurrier’s considerable talent, the true Heisman favorite lives over 900 miles away. Six years before leading Miami to a perfect record and a Super Bowl title, Robert Griese takes snaps in spring practice at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. He’s got the arm and the leadership to succeed.
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Below are the rankings of Florida’s major college football teams as ranked by our team of panelists.  1st place = 5pts, 2nd place = 4pts, etc.
 
#1 UF (4-2, 14 pts) - Lost to LSU 24-28 on a late touchdown by the Tigers.  Florida had a 17-7 lead at the half but was outscored 21-7 in a second half dominated by LSU’s offense and 2 costly Gator turnovers.
 
Outlook: UF enters its bye week off of two consecutive late game losses.  The Gators will hope to get healthy and work on execution.  The remaining schedule is daunting(UK, UGA, SCAR, FSU) and winning the remaining SEC games would likely cause a rematch with LSU in the Georgia Dome.  While a National Title is all but out of reach, the SEC is still within this teams grasp.
 
#2 USF (6-0, 13 pts) - Beat FAU 34-23 despite 4 turnovers that helped FAU keep constant pressure on the Bulls until late in the 4th quarter. 
 
Outlook: Several tough games remaining including a number of key conference games (Cincinnati, Rutgers, Louisville, UConn).  Because of the youth of the program, an undefeated season might be necessary to play in the National Championship Game but could still win the Big East and make a BCS bowl with a loss.
 
#3 FSU (4-1, 9 pts) - Beat NCSU 27-10 in Xavier Lee’s first start of the year.  The Nole defense pressured Jay Evans all day long forcing three interceptions - one of which was returned for at TD.
 
Outlook: The Seminoles looked absolutely horrid to begin the year and although they still look terrible at times they have made enough positive plays to win games.  Perhaps this “best coaching staff in the country” can continue to win with smoke and mirrors but there are holes galore that will need to be patched.  The schedule is brutal starting with a trip to Wake this week followed by games against Miami, Boston College, Virginia Tech and Maryland before ending the year at Florida.
 
#4 Miami (4-2, 6 pts) - Lost to North Carolina 28-33 to former coach Butch Davis in Chapel Hill.  UNC took a huge lead (27-0) into halftime and held on against a furious comeback by the Canes.  Starting quarterback Kyle Wright threw 4 interceptions in the game but also had over 300 yards passing and 2 TDs including a 97 yard TD to Darnell Jenkins.
 
Outlook: UNC was one of the easy games on the schedule.  Miami now comes home to play a desperate Georgia Tech team that also fell short in a comeback versus Maryland last week.  Struggling like they did in North Carolina doesn’t bode well for Miami as the Yellow jackets have the most disruptive defense in the league.  On a positive note, the school announced they were cutting the cost of tickets.
 
#5 UCF (3-2, 3 pts) - Lost to East Carolina 38-52 despite leading 28-17 at the half.  The Golden Knights had 5 turnovers in the 3rd quarter alone, 3 of which were converted into scores.
 
Outlook: UCF is barely part of the Big 5 and could theoretically be replaced by FAU if they don’t do well.  They have a big statement game against USF coming up next week.  A win could make their season as the next best thing to enjoying great success is to deny your biggest rival that same success.  After USF the schedule moves into Conference USA play where UCF is 1-1.

Florida’s Big Five - USF, UF, UCF, UM, FSU
 
Perhaps someday they will have a poll that ranks the college teams just inside the state of Florida.  Until then we will give our midseason review of the state’s programs.  Whether this year is a fluke or a portending of a future Florida landscape is still a question.  For now we will focus on what is and prognosticate on that basis alone.
 
Rankings: C=Coaches, AP=Associated Press, H=Harris
 
SOUTH FLORIDA BULLS #6(AP), #9(C), #10(H)
 
Record - 4-0
 
Significant wins - Auburn, West Virginia
 
Outlook:  The Bulls have accomplished so much, so fast that they have gone from being the hunters to the hunted overnight.  As the last remaining legitimate NC hope of the Big East, South Florida will have to learn to play with that target in a hurry.  The defense is top notch and Grothe is a true playmaker in the Tim Tebow mode.  The depth is questionable but the schedule is favorable.  A four game stretch with in-state rival UCF, at Rutgers, at UConn and against Cincinatti will be key.  If they survive that stretch the only challenge will be a visit from high-scoring Louisville which last year shredded the bulls for 41 points.
 
South Florida is having a historic run and I don’t want to temper all the unbridled enthusiasm but this team will probably end up with at least 2 losses.  To me 10-2 is still an incredible accomplishment and could be the foundation for long term success.  However one cannot dismiss the fact that South Florida was the recipient of 5 turnovers in its game with Auburn and another 6 against WVU.  Turnovers are the biggest momentum changing plays in football.  Some of this credit should go to an agressive ball hawking defense but there will be times in the future against a quality opponent where South Florida will not benefit from a huge turnover margin.
 
FLORIDA GATORS #9(AP), #7(C), #8(H)
 
Record - 4-1
 
Significant wins - Tennessee
 
Outlook:  After losing to Auburn, Florida will try and rebound against perhaps the best team in the nation on the road.  So far youth has been the word of the day.  Rarely does a top ranked team have so many true freshman see the field in crucial moments.  The offense is led by two true sophomores and the receiving corps is one of the youngest in the nation.  The Gators have speed to burn but when you aren’t sure of your assignments or spend time thinking you lose your advantage.  Florida has spent much of this year reacting rather than attacking.  Until players become comfortable with their position expect more of the same.  Four of their next five games are against teams ranked in the top 12. (more…)

Yeah. I think they would. In fact, if they played, I’d be willing to bet on it.

The Bulls knocked out an admittedly weak Auburn team, but they did it on the road, at night, with no credentials other than some brass cajones in their jockstraps. The Gators can attest to the fact that Jordan-Hare is not an easy place to play even under the best of circumstances.

UCF gave 6th-ranked Texas every last inch they could handle, and were in a position to win the game when a key turnover late in the 4th secured the Longhorns’s victory.

Does anyone really believe Miami or Florida State could give either Auburn or Texas a game? By default, doesn’t that mean that UCF and USF ought to be able to roll the ‘Noles and Miami? Maybe even without troubling themselves too much to do it?
Let’s start with FSU.

FSU is a shadow of its former self. When I look at FSU’s roster, I don’t see a single player who would start at UF. The talent is gone, the playcalling is anemic, and FSU is struggling to beat teams like UAB and Colorado. The Blazers actually held a lead over the ‘Noles for the first half of play in Doak-Campbell, and the game was tied well into the fourth quarter. Prior to that matchup, Nole fans were posting on their message boards that they were looking forward to an “easy blowout” just so they could see some decent football again. Instead, the ‘Noles fought for their lives and Bobby Bowden whistled through the graveyard in the postgame and on his horribly-produced TV show, in which he acted like FSU had beaten a ranked opponent in the days of old.

Against Colorado, FSU could score only a single touchdown. Despite a 16-6 final score, the Buffs scored a late TD (2-pt. conversion no good), then forced a 3-and-out on the Noles and advanced right back to the endzone again where they nearly scored in the final seconds. They were two blown plays from going to overtime.

With all due respect to Dan Hawkins, Colorado’s not very good.

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