State of the state: Where's the sunshine?

With Florida now down 28-14 to Michigan in the second half of the Capital One Bowl, there's a distinct possibility that state football teams will go 1-4 in bowl games this season. Has the state fallen so much that Floridians are hanging their hats on a Florida Atlantic bowl victory?

With USF, FSU, Florida and Central Florida all losing to teams from BCS conferences (Florida still has a quarter and a half to catch Michigan), I imagine you'll be reading stories asking if the state has lost some of its prominence in college football. The Bulls are sure to drop out of the top 25, leaving the state with only ranked team (Florida) at the end of the year.

Are other programs doing a better job of raiding recruits from Florida? This is a state that had the national champions and multiple bowl victories last season, so it could just be a down year. Thoughts?

Comments

[Amanda]

I think it is just an off year for Florida teams. No doubt this year has been an absolute roller coaster and Florida teams possibly falling to 1-4 in bowl games kind of fits. Hopefully next year will be less crazy.

[l]

Off year!! USF 9-3 got beat by the Ducks who happen to be tremendous football team. Had they (UO) not lost their Heisman QB they probably would have been in the NC Game.

UCF...Won their Conference...they lost to a 6-6 SEC bottom feeder.

[Dave W]

I think UF finished up about where we expected from a team with a sophomore QB and star skill player (Harvin). We finished exactly where I predicted in the regular season. The bowl was terribly disappointing, for sure, though. No one thought FSU would be any good, but we figured they'd make a bowl. UM failed miserably, I think we expected at least a bowl for them. UCF and FAU were better than expected, and FIU was shockingly bad.

Based on what the reasonable predictions were in August, I'm not surprised by the relatively poor showing. Only UM really was worse than the talent they have, but Shannon is a first year coach who will probably turn things around. Congrats to UCF and FAU, for sure, but I think the state is hanging it's football hat on Miami Northwestern this season.

And Michigan?!?! I love it! In high school, Henne threw for about 250 yards (a lot in Pennsylvania in November) and beat us, but he was very gracious in victory. Unlike Anthony Morelli. The UF loss is good for us, and we can point out to recruits that unlike UM, we made a bowl, unlike FSU, you won't get suspended for cheating, unlike UCF, you'll be on the winning end of 64-12 games, unlike FAU, people will have heard of your school, unlike FIU, you'll win a game, and like UF, you can expect to lose a game you should win.

What an odd season.

[Blake]

Overall I believe it is simply an off year for the the state of Florida. However, I do believe other programs are doing a much better job of raiding recruits from the state. A player from the state of Florida can be found on nearly every major program in the country. I think the state can rebound as soon as next year. While programs like Miami and FSU are in flux, UF has some of the most dominating(and young) athletes in the nation and USF appears poised to continue its rise to becoming a prominent contender in the Big East. Also, FAU is on the rise under Schnellenberger and UCF remains a strong mid-major team winning the C-USA. I think that the state will have a difficult time ever having the dominance it did in the 90s, but UF and USF(and even possibly FSU and UM if they can straighten themselves out) can carry the flag for the state against the rest of the nation, and FAU and UCF provide good depth for college football in the sunshine state.

[Ari Hinkelberger]

Im tried of seeing teams run it down our throats. We can't win a conference title and be considered a high quality team until we figure out how to stop the opposing teams RB and how to get our RB more then 30 yards against any decent team.

I can't believe Gregory gave up on ford after 6 measley carries. Maybe if Gregory had more then two stupid run plays in the book - we might be more effective. If I see that stupid trap draw play we run one more time -- i am going to puke.

Glad basketball is here.

[Dave W]

Hey Ari- what do you think about tomorrow night's game? I think we take it in strong fashion, so as to make a statement to the conference. I also really hope that the cameras don't show the empty, ugly yellow seats too much.

I'm saying 10+ points from KG (and 10+ boards), Jones, and Holmes.

[DELdaBULL]

I'm back. What a trip. The bowl and festivities were amazing. The reason I went sucked. The only place we did not get outplayed was Delbert's punting. Better luck next year. I already started saving the cash!

with four losses, UF may not remain in the top 25

[Jason]

Tonight on ESPN 2 at 7:00 pm is Rut at USF basketball.

[USF-Dissappointed]

I walked out of the stadium next to a USF Offensive lineman's father. He told my wife and I "What do you expect to happen when the majority of the team is in Mexico drinking every night". I don't know how many players were invloved, but they should have been preparing for the game. There is plenty of time to party after a victory. I hope the players had a wonderful night sulking in their hotel rooms. I hope Voss is ready to play QB next year b/c Grothe throwing 15 TDs and 15 INTs doesn't constitute a good QB.

[Jim in Williamsburg, VA (Class of '68)]

Let's just hope it was an off year for Florida bowl teams. Five teams went to post-season bowls...and FAU's Owls are the only ones to triumph? Unbelievabe!

Note to USF Bulls coaches: In the future, please assume that bowl opponents will attempt to use your team strengths against you...if at all possible. We've heard all season how fast the Bull defense was. Oregon must have been paying attention, and responded with the classic "it's-not-rocket-science" answer: offensive mis-direction. With more than a month to prepare, Bulls coaches might have given some thought to how Oregon might plan to use USF's team strengths against the Bulls.
During that same month, the Bulls offense could have worked on some new "trickeration"...or just expand the play-calling options to include something the Ducks might not have anticipated or seen in a dozen USF game films.
It appears the Ducks' coaches gave some thought to ways to neutralize George Selvie and confine Matt Grothe to a small space behind center to prevent him from doing what he does best.

One last musing: It may have been 20 years ago or so, but I vaguely remember what may be one of the most creative coaching moves ever. I think it was an Alabama regular season game. The Crimson Tide was the underdog, but their defense was very fast and agile. The opposing quarterback had a reputation for reading defenses flawlessly, so the Tide defense initially lined up all 11 guys on the line of scrimmage until the quarterback began the snap count. Then the linebackers and defensive quickly back-pedaled to their normal positions. The tactic deprived the opponent of any opportunity to read the defense, putting the opponent's offense at a disadvantage, if not in a total state of confusion. Alabama won the game decisively.

Just a little food for thought as we go into 2008...

[Mountain Oysters]

the Bulls had to take a flight back home after the game ... there was no staying behind

where are all the Bulls fans saying that they were only a couple plays away from playing for a national title? LOL

[AnhVu Nguyen]

Please fire or demote Gregory! Our offense this year was worse than last year and we have much more talent. Is it just me or was Rich Rodriguez being a complete jerk by showing up at the Capital One Bowl? I always knew he had no class and he is certainly showing it. 1) Trying to get out of a buyout clause 2) Refusing to coach your own team in a bowl game 3) Stealing the attention from Lloyd Carr in his last game when it is now your "show" 4) Standing on the same sidelines with the assistants that you just fired. I hope Rodriguez enjoyed the game because Michigan will never be that good again with him. He was successful at West Virginia because he refused to play anybody in the nonconference schedule. That won't happen at Michigan.

[JKR]

Whose car do I have to wash and wax to get Mike Ford some carries? He was the biggest difference between the 3-game losing streak and the winning streak to end the season before the Sun Bowl. They have a whole offseason now to draw up some plays to get him involved. He HAS to get the ball every game.

Ultimately though that game made something perfectly clear - our lines, both defensive and offensive, HAVE to get stronger. We were run over in the trenches.

As for Florida, I'm not sure how it could be considered a down season - Kevin Smith, Tim Tebow, Selvie, USF hitting #2 ranking, FAU a big surprise. The only true season-long disappointment was Miami, and even then people were expecting a down year (FIU doesn't count, there are only down years there). It was definitely a down finish though.

Things look better for next year though - UF got some killer experience for young players, Smith is coming back for UCF, Shannon has a year under his belt at Miami, USF keeps most of its impact players (and hopefully improved the offensive playcalling).

I'm not sure what to think of FSU.

[Dave]

I don't think it was an off year for Florida teams at all. OK, FSU and Miami, sure. Very disappointing, if not disasterous seasons. UF had a relatively disappointing season, especially with the bowl loss, but still produced a Heisman Trophy Winner. USF and UCF...well just the fact we're talking about their bowl games means something, doesn't it?

I don't know much about the other schools, but heck, even that is saying something. There's more college football in Florida than I can even follow nowadays!

So, no, I don't think this is an offyear at all.

All this talk off Mike Ford is comical.

Was there a single game this season where we played a team with a winning record where he was productive???

He had a couple of decent carries in the Auburn game, but I can't think of a single game where he was effective against a decent team.

Everyone runs for a 100 yards against Cuse...

I don't even think he is the problem. We have like two running plays in the entire playbook. And our offensive line is pathetic in run blocking.

[Jim]

Ford is not the issue I agree, even Williams could not run. And Taylor was not even used. I think our offensive line is just larger than 1AA team and needs upgrade.

I hope that the coaches work in the off season to revamp the play book because Oregon knew every play before it started.

[J]

HELLO!!! LITTLE BITTY 7 YEAR OLD TEAM, FLORIDA ATLANTIC UNIVERSITY, LED BY SCHNELLENBERGER [WHO'S NOW 5-0 FOR BOWLS] WAS THE ONLY FLORIDA UNIVERSITY TO WIN THEIR BOWL GAME. RUSTY SMITH IS A FINE QUARTERBACK AND ONLY A SOPHOMORE. WATCH THIS TEAM NEXT YEAR AND IN THE YEARS TO COME!

[steve oneal]

Good season FAU, but don't get too excited. You still play in the sunbelt conference and at a High school stadium. Coach Schnellenberger is a great coach and ya'll are lucky to have him. Happy NEW YEAR and GO BULLS!

[Dave W]

Walt Walker was clealy the MVP of this team. 4 games entirely or mostly missed, 4 losses. 9 games played. 9 wins. And look at the aggregate rushing totals while he was in compared to the losses. We're screwed next year unless we can get a guy who is ready right away at T, because we don't have any one who can play that spot effectively (even Dile is questionable). It doesn't matter who has the ball if he is hit 3 yards behind scrimmage every play. Simmonds needs to take some responsibility, but Gregory gets most of the blame. He belongs in the Big-10. Get us the Appy State OC!

[Dave]

So this was a great basketball game to watch. Jones and KG are fantastic; Jones' shot was perfect tonight. I hope he maintains his aggressiveness and doesn't turn into Antoine Walker. Chin looked good, he and Saaka will make a good rotation. Plus, Saaka showed a lot of toughness after busting his nose.

I was surprised at how many times KG's shot was blocked and I thought Heath was slow to react to the defensive switch in the 2nd half.

A 20+ point win in the BEAST will get the attention of everybody. One game at a time, though.

[Ken]

I don't know whether it's true, but our team looked like they weren't prepared--and they, and/or the coaches hadn't been taking the game seriously. We were definitely out-coached in preparing for the game. But Oregon is a really great team this year--their losses were attributable to not knowing who their #2 QB ought to have been.

[brianusf]

I agree with all of the comments on Mike Ford getting the ball. He is the difference maker.

We need some O-line help and interior D-Line help for sure. Our boys need to bulk up in the off season.

Matt Grothe needs to watch some game film in the off season and work on his decision making ability. I love his heart and energy. Just make some better decisions.

Also, the state of FL football is fine. UF will be the preseason #1 or #2, USF will be favored to compete for the Big East Championship, and FSU will be back. Over the course of the season they played much better. Jeff Bowden ran the offensive talent into the ground. Jeff Fisher had his work cut out for him and now he has the ship headed in the right direction. The online course cheating scandal can happen anywhere. That issue was blown out of proportion by the media. FSU will challenge for the ACC next year, and will again be a dominant force in the ACC over the years to come.

Miami, they will continue to backslide for a few years to come. Other schools from around the nation are stealing players from their backyard on a routine basis. FAU will be good in the Sun Belt conference. UCF they have reached their peak. O'Leary will be out of there after a few more C-USA championships. He'll get another chance at a BCS school in a few years.

[jesse]

Wow USF got their butts handed to them, just shows the Big least is a weak conference.

[DELdaBULL]

So is the Big 12 I guess?

[ClwtrBull]

Sure looked weak last night against an Oklahoma team I thought was going to roll WVU...?????

[Carl H.]

Twelve running plays for a total of 17 yards from three running backs. Looks like the Ducks game plan was stop the run and force Grothe to win the game. If we(USF) cannot establish a running game and recruit a couple of top notch receivers(speedy) our offense will continue to struggle against good teams. We had 2 wins and 4 losses when we played teams with winning records. The past two years we are o-6 against Rutgers, Cincy, and Conn. Personally, I think our offense is to limiting for a QB like Grothe. If CJL is going to recruit duel threat QB's then loosen the offense up some, like West Virginia or Florida. The defense never showed up for the Sun Bowl, really strange for our defense. By the way, we had a great time out in El Paso. El Paso and the surrounding areas were great, the game not so great. Go Bulls!!