Long before Florida State players lifted the crystal football in Pasadena, grinning with roses between their teeth, the Seminoles earned another prize worth bragging about.
This was a Florida Cup year, a season in which the state’s big three faced off. The Seminoles, with no-doubter wins over Florida and Miami, easily took the prize. With UF and UM unable to reach an agreement to play future games, FSU will hold the trophy indefinitely.
Don’t expect the Seminoles to stop boasting anytime soon.
Of the state schools, the national champion Noles are clearly the top dogs. They have the most talent returning and, less than four weeks before signing day, the best-looking recruiting class. Right now, the Canes and Gators, as well as upstart Central Florida, are playing catch up.
Though their unbeaten (14-0, 8-0 ACC) team loses several key underclassmen — monster defensive tackle Timmy Jernigan, running backs Devonta Freeman and James Wilder Jr., massive receiver Kelvin Benjamin — to the NFL draft, the Seminoles should at least challenge for a spot in the new four-team College Football Playoff.
They have their centerpiece, Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Jameis Winston, for at least one more year. Running back Karlos Williams and most of the offensive line will return, as well as a deep corps of wideouts led by Rashad Greene. FSU should again have one of the nation’s best offenses.
Despite losing four seniors, including cornerback Lamarcus Joyner and linebacker Christian Jones, FSU’s defense has loads of talent and depth. Its recruiting class is expected to be in the top five nationally.
The Hurricanes (9-4, 5-3 ACC) expect to have a strong class — somewhere in the top 10, it appears — and have as many playmakers on offense as FSU. Running back Duke Johnson and receiver Stacy Coley regularly produce highlights. UM’s defense will continue to be worrisome, though the return of linebacker Denzel Perryman for his senior year will help matters. Another run at the ACC Coastal title is expected.
Coming off their worst season since 1979, the Gators (4-8, 3-5 SEC) will have a new offensive coordinator in Kurt Roper, formerly of Duke, and a more up-tempo attack to match a defense that was good, when healthy. Quarterback Jeff Driskel will be back, as well as most of the other 13 Gators who suffered season-ending injuries last year. That will certainly boost an offense that ranked 115th nationally in yards gained and 113th in points scored. As Auburn showed last season in going from 3-9 to the national title game, a turnaround is possible.
Central Florida (12-1, 8-0 American Athletic Conference) is riding high after winning the AAC and beating Baylor in the Fiesta Bowl, but UCF will lose outstanding quarterback Blake Bortles and 1,000-yard rusher Storm Johnson to the draft. The Knights will be tough, and a stout nonconference schedule (including Penn State in Dublin, Ireland; Missouri and Brigham Young) will give UCF the challenges a Louisville-less AAC will not. The Knights have won 10 games in three of the last four years, but they simply don’t recruit on the level of the state’s big three, so it’s fair to question whether this run is sustainable.
Conference-mate South Florida (2-10, 2-6 AAC) could offer perspective. In 2009, the Bulls beat FSU and proclaimed themselves a part of the state’s new “Big 4” by slapping their logo on an interstate billboard in Tampa, but they are 22-36 since under three head coaches. They lost their last six games under first-year coach Willie Taggart, and things don’t appear to be improving.
Things are worse at Florida International (1-11, 0-7 Conference USA), which ranked dead last nationally in scoring (9.8 points per game) and was 112th in points allowed (37.0). Despite existing in the heart of a fertile recruiting ground, FIU is a program in disarray.
Florida Atlantic’s future, however, is looking up. The Owls (6-6, 4-4 C-USA) had their first .500 season in five years, doing it by winning four straight after coach Carl Pelini resigned amid scandal. New coach Charlie Partridge, a Plantation native and expert South Florida recruiter, should have FAU climbing higher in little time.
