College football catches up to Fla.’s Big 3

[Papa_Bull]

College football catches up to Fla.’s Big 3

By CRAIG HANDEL

The (Fort Myers. Fla.) News-Press

University of Florida coach Urban Meyer said it. Florida State coach Bobby Bowden repeated it. Miami’s Larry Coker agreed.

The rest of the country has caught up to the Big 3 in college football. There is parity.

But when these coaches continue to make their tours around the state this spring and summer, don’t expect them to tell their fans that.

“I don’t even try (to explain),†Coker said. “They don’t want to hear it.â€Â

The run was an impressive one. For every season since 1983, either Florida, Miami or Florida State finished in the top five in the college football polls. That meant one of them, and often two or three of them, played in either the Rose, Fiesta, Cotton, Orange or Sugar bowls.

Since FSU joined the Atlantic Coast Conference and Miami the Big East in 1992, at least one of the Big 3 had won a conference title.

When the Bowl Championship Series formed in the 1998 season, the Seminoles and Hurricanes began the BCS with a five-year run of at least one playing in the national title game. Count the Gators’ loss to Nebraska in the Fiesta Bowl in the 1995 season and Sugar Bowl win over FSU in the 1996 season and there was a run of seven times in eight years where at least one of the state teams played for a shot at No. 1.

That is a memory now. For the past two seasons, none of the Big 3 played for a shot at the national title.

Last season, none of them won a conference title, none of them played in a major bowl game. As a result, none had a top-five finish.

Now the powers aren’t Florida, Florida State and Miami but USC and Oklahoma.

“That was odd last year, we didn’t get in that top five,†Bowden said. “But there’s getting to be more and more parity now. All of us have 85 scholarships.â€Â

In the old days with unlimited scholarships, the powers used to hoard the top players so rivals couldn’t get them. Now the spread of talent wealth allows a team like Meyer’s Utah squad last season to go unbeaten.

“I just think college football has leveled out,†Meyer said. “Just to give you an example is the Utahs of the world. I think everyone is in an arms race.

“It’s who’s better and who’s up every week. Who’s the best team in the SEC? Whoever it is, they better show up because the level of competition is so high.â€Â

Meyer is expected to raise the level of play in the Southeastern Conference. That also could force Florida State and Miami to raise their games, which could quickly return all three to the nation’s elite.

One ESPN post-spring ball poll has Florida No. 5, Miami No. 8 and FSU No. 14. A CBS Sportsline poll has the Gators No. 8, the Hurricanes No. 12 and the Seminoles No. 14.

Bowden, whose team  like Miami  is loaded on the defensive side, said his rival shares another thing with his team  health.

“When coaches say ‘We hope to get lucky’, that means they hope nobody gets hurt,†he said. “If we stay healthy, I’ll take our chances.â€Â

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Big 3 facts

 Last season marked first time since 1982 that neither Florida, Florida State or Miami finished in the top five in the college football polls. They also didn’t play in any of the top bowl games.

 Neither Florida, Florida State or Miami won a conference title for the first time since FSU and Miami joined conferences in 1992.

 For the past two seasons, Florida, Florida State or Miami didn’t play in the Bowl Championship Series national title game. In the first five years of the BCS, either Florida State or Miami played in the national title game.

[MavTechKNIGHT2]

If the rest of the country can do it, you bet UCF will too.

We always have been part of the Big Four anyways.

[lotsofbull99]

If the rest of the country can do it, you bet UCF will too.

We always have been part of the Big Four anyways.

Buahahahaha, try beating a MAC or CDOA team first, neither UCF or USF are even in the same league as the Big 3 yet.

[USFPDiddy]

Technically, we are in the same league as the national championship miami squad!

oh wait.  You meant FIGURATIVELY speaking.  Nope.  Nowhere near em.  USF is closer than UCF, but not by a great deal.  Its fighting for 4th at the half way point when the first 3 are already finished with the race.

[DawgPound]

We are toddlers playing in the same room as the grownups.  We got a loooong way to go.  I would even question UF's status as "elite."  They ONLY have 1 national championship.

[bullwark]

USF is behind the BIG 3, however, USF is a step closer than UCF due to its conference affiliation.

[GarySJ]

I still say the addition of I-A programs at UCF, USF, FAU and FIU is hurting the big three. They don't have the whole state to themselves anymore. Yes, they're still getting most of the top talent in Florida, but the kids that used to make up the bottom half of their recruiting classes are now going to the other four Florida schools. Their recruiting classes aren't as deep as they used to be, so they have less margin for error with the blue-chippers.

[Bruce]

"but the kids that used to make up the bottom half of their recruiting classes are now going to the other four Florida schools."

I think more are going to the NCSUs, Louisvilles, and Clemsons of the world, not FAU and FIU.

[GarySJ]

True, that's part of the equation as well. But other schools like Louisville have recruited in Florida for ages, and it didn't hurt the Big Three in the late 80s-early 90s.

[smazza]

usf needs to recruit better in florida