The sunshine state has long been a hotbed for college football.  With an abundance of high school talent leaving for college every year, Florida schools have their pick of the litter of some of the nation’s best athletes.  For as long as anyone can remember, at least one of the big three (Florida, Florida State and Miami) has been a factor in the national championship picture.  In the past ten years, all three of these schools have won national titles: Florida State in 1999, Miami in 2001 and Florida in 2006.  During that same time period, however, these three schools have traversed dramatically different paths to arrive at their current circumstance.  Furthermore, in a state where most believed that no other schools could compete in either recruiting or ranking, the Universities of Central and South Florida have both become presences in their own right.

Flash back to 1998, if you will.  Florida State was about to embark on the greatest season in the school’s history.  In 1999, Bobby Bowden coached his Seminoles to an undefeated season and an ultimate victory over the Michael Vick-led Virginia Tech Hokies.  Steve Spurrier was still coaching at Florida, but after winning a national championship only several years prior, the Ol’ Ball Coach seemed to have lost his edge on the Swamp’s sidelines.  The Washington Redskins would soon come calling.  Miami, under Butch Davis, was just starting to recover from athletic sanctions suffered by the Dennis Erickson regime.  Larry Coker would take over in 2001, leading Miami to a perfect 12-0.  Coker took them back to the championship game in 2003, only to lose to in overtime to Ohio State.  At Central Florida, Mike Kruczek took over as head coach for a program that had only joined Division 1-A a few years earlier.  Similarly, South Florida’s fledgling football program had only begun in 1997 under the tutelage of a young Jim Leavitt.

In 2008, it is safe to say the script has been flipped for all five programs.  Florida State is far from the powerhouse it was in the 1990s.  A team that once dominated the Atlantic Coast Conference, winning its first nine, consecutive conference titles, has not won an ACC crown since 2005.  The school continues to have off-the-field problems with its student athletes.  Their traditional dominance over Florida has also waned, having dropped four straight meetings.  All this has some Seminole faithful questioning whether Bobby Bowden should finally hand over the reins to his successor.  The Gators, on the other hand, are in fine shape.  After going 23-14 and winless in a bowl in three years under Ron Zook, the Florida faithful became impatient.  Zook, ever the master recruiter, left the cupboard loaded with talent and when Florida signed Urban Meyer from Utah in 2004, Meyer led that talent to the mountaintop.  Florida is still right where it wants to be, consistently competing alongside the top programs in the nation.  For the second time in three years, Florida is poised to contend for a national title.  Miami joined the ACC in 2004, but has yet to win a conference title in that time.  Miami is currently rebuilding under young head coach Randy Shannon.  Last year, for the first time in ten years, Miami failed to reached a bowl game  Although they have faced some difficulties recently, they appear to be headed in the right direction with Shannon, but rest assured ‘Canes fans won’t settle for too many more sub-.500 seasons.  Just making a bowl is not good enough for the University of Miami. Since joining Conference USA in 2005, Central Florida has already won two titles.  In 2007, South Florida was the highest ranked Florida school, climbing as high as #2 in the nation.  These two schools are starting to develop a healthy in-state rivalry.  While obviously not holding the same firepower or hype as when two of the big three meet, there is still plenty of talent on the field.  Both UCF and USF have proven they can play with any school in the nation.  Miami may find that out this season as they host Central Florida on October 11.

For four of the five schools, the future is bright.  Florida continues to scour the nation for top talent.  Nobody would be surprised is Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow leads the Gators to another title.  Miami will have its hands full in the ACC, but should ultimately return to competitiveness under Shannon.  That will be no easy task as long as Clemson and Virginia Tech continue to field national championship contenders.  UCF and USF will continue their ascent to prominence.  However, Florida State may face more difficult times before any return to glory.  Bobby Bowden can obviously write his own ticket coaching in the stadium that bears his name.  Offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher has been tagged as his successor, but Bowden has set no definite timetable for his retirement.  Extended mediocrity for this program might warrant an exit sooner rather than later.  Nobody expects him to coach all that much longer, however repeated losses to Florida combined with Joe Paterno continuing to chalk up wins on the sidelines rivaling Bowden’s all-time wins might just extend his time on the sidelines.  One thing for sure, once considered one of the most intriguing match-ups of the calendar year, the Florida State-Miami rivalry has been relegated to just another regular season game.

The state of Florida remains a football factory.  While the Florida Gators are clearly in the best shape of the five schools, Urban Meyer knows he can not rest on his laurels.  Miami is back on their regular schedule renewing the rivalry and the Gators haven’t beaten them in over twenty years.  It should be some time, however, before either Miami, or Florida State, contend for a national title.  USF, on the other hand, playing in the Big East, could conceivably affect the national championship picture as ridiculous as that sounds.  After all, before losing to Pittsburgh, West Virginia was poised to play for a national championship.  Their only loss last season prior to that game was to South Florida.  UCF should also not be an afterthought.  Last year’s squad won at North Carolina State and nearly beat Texas as George O’Leary continues to yield competitive teams.  A big non-conference win, for example against Miami this year, will put UCF on the map.

The past decade proves just how fickle a game college football is.  It is difficult to imagine a world where Miami and Florida State do not play a major role in the national championship picture, yet that is how things stand.  UCF, while competitive might never figure into that equation.  College football’s bias towards major conference teams bears that out.  Despite a great season last year, USF would have to run the table to even be considered for a national championship bid.  Then again, nobody thought the Tampa Bay Rays would ever compete in the American League East either.  Florida remains the state’s only legitimate powerhouse, although stay tuned.  Who knows what the next ten years might hold.

The following article will be published in the latest issue of Campus Talk, a magazine distributed in Tampa, Orlando, Gainesville and Tallahassee.  If you're a local, pick one up and increase their circulation.  They also have lots of pictures of pretty girls for extra motivation.

While most college students would rather spend the remainder of summer avoiding the prospect of returning to class, they can at least take solace that while fall semester brings textbooks, exams and sleep-inducing lectures, it also brings about the most glorious time of year:  college football season.

2008’s national title contenders will feature a number of familiar faces looking to punch their ticket to the BCS Championship game in Miami on January 8, 2009.  Lining up for that opportunity will be several traditional powerhouses such as Ohio State, Georgia, Oklahoma, Florida and USC, while other programs such as Missouri, Kansas, Virginia Tech, LSU, Wisconsin, Auburn, Penn State, Oregon, Michigan, Tennessee, Texas, Clemson and BYU will not go down without a fight.

With each new season, college football becomes increasingly more competitive and entertaining.  Smaller conference teams have shown they can play on the same field as the bigger schools, while the power conferences such as the PAC-10, Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC continue to beat each other up all season long until only one conference champ is left standing.  Last year, LSU became the first school to ever win a national title with more than one loss.  Regardless of whether the BCS eventually decides to switch to a playoff system or keep their current format, with such stiff competition, a multiple-loss championship team may now be the norm rather than the exception.

As usual, key games highlight this year’s college schedule, with rarely a boring Saturday on the schedule.  Many of these contests will have a direct effect on the national championship picture.

The season starts out in the very first week with NC State traveling to South Carolina, USC going to Virginia, Alabama facing Clemson and Tennessee going to UCLA.  However, no early game will have quite the hype and anticipation of the September 13 match-up between Ohio State and USC.  Go ahead and mark it on your calendar now.  Both schools will likely be ranked in the top five and despite this being a non-conference game, the winner will be on the inside track to a BCS Championship.  After that game, the Buckeyes will have to face conference rivals Wisconsin and Illinois on the road, as well as their traditional season-ending contest against Michigan.  If Ohio State can make it through the Big Ten schedule relatively unscathed, they’ll have an excellent chance to play in their third consecutive championship game.  They may just have the talent to do so.  USC, for the first time in a long time, seemed somewhat vulnerable last year, losing to both Stanford and Oregon.  Long gone are the days of Bush and Leinart.  Even John David Booty has left for the NFL.  But just because USC doesn’t have those familiar faces doesn’t mean they won’t compete at an extremely high level.  Year after year, Coach Pete Carroll reloads his program with all-Americans at nearly every position.  With such talent, it should come as no surprise that USC and Ohio State are the favorites to win their respective conferences.

Only one week after that mammoth contest, the bulk of conference play begins, with huge match-ups including LSU at Auburn and Florida at Tennessee.  The winner of these games, as is the case every year, will become the front-runners in their respective divisions in the Southeastern Conference.  After winning last year’s national championship, LSU will have a difficult time repeating with road games at Auburn, Florida, South Carolina and Arkansas.  They also have Georgia on their schedule.  Auburn travels to play Alabama at the end of the year, but most of their difficult conference games will be played at home, including games against Tennessee and Georgia.  As usual, SEC teams will beat each other up all season long.  As that conference remains one of the elite in college football from top to bottom, it is becoming increasingly rare for any team to walk away undefeated, or with even one loss.

Georgia is also another serious title contender.  After destroying Hawaii in their bowl game last year, Georgia finished the nation ranked second.  Since they return most of their talent, including Heisman candidates Knowshon Moreno and Matthew Stafford, they could finish this season higher than that.  The only thing standing in their way of a return to glory is their schedule, easily one of the toughest in the nation.  UGA plays at South Carolina, Arizona State, LSU and Auburn as well as hosting both Alabama and Tennessee.   This year’s Florida-Georgia game could be one for the ages and should put that rivalry back on the map as one of the nation’s finest.

The Big 12 must be included in any national championship conversation.  Oklahoma is loaded with talent, but the two surprise teams in the conference last year were Kansas and Missouri.  While Kansas and Mizzou should battle for the Big 12 North title, Texas will do their best to keep Oklahoma honest in the South.   The ACC also boasts national title contenders in Virginia Tech, Clemson and even a pesky Wake Forest team.  And several Big East teams were major players last year, although Rutgers, Louisville and West Virginia all lost talent to the NFL.

Few other areas in the south have as many quality programs as the sunshine state.  Florida, Florida State, UCF and USF all had bright points last season and should carry that success into 2008.  The four schools all play in different divisions, and with a clean slate for 2008, all have a chance to be competitive, and possibly figure into the national championship landscape.

Florida Gators:  Returning Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow has vowed to improve upon the Gators’ 2007 9-4 record, even though few of last year’s losses can be attributed to his performance.  He will have a slew of offensive weapons at his disposal to keep that promise.  Chris Rainey, Percy Harvin and USC transfer Emmanuel Moody will shore up the backfield, while Tebow will have targets to throw to in Louis Murphy and Cornelius Ingram.  Florida’s inexperienced defense, particularly in the secondary, kept the 2007 Gators on the outside looking in at a conference championship.  Even with another year under their belt, and an offense that promises to dazzle fans nationwide, the pre-season favorite in many polls still faces an uphill battle in their quest for an SEC crown.  Florida welcomes in-state rival University of Miami back into the mix on Sept 6.  Although the Gators should be favored going into this game, UF hasn’t beaten UM since the 1980s.  After that, things don’t get any easier as conference play begins.  Their road schedule, however, is favorable.  The Gators travel to Tennessee, Arkansas and Vanderbilt while having the luxury of hosting Mississippi, LSU, Kentucky and South Carolina.  The biggest game, not only in conference, but perhaps of the entire year, may be the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party in Jacksonville.  Many have projected Florida and Georgia to be ranked #1 and #2 by late October.  And while the Gators have owned the Bulldogs in recent years, one gets the impression that with their victory last year, Georgia is ready to turn the tide.

Florida State Seminoles: The garnet and gold remain a shell of their former selves.  The program that struck fear into its opponents and dominated the 1990s has fallen upon hard times.  Nobody would ever have expected the Seminoles to tally back-to-back 7-6 seasons.  Years ago, such mediocrity would be unheard of, but now, in Tallahassee it’s the norm.  The rest of the ACC have caught up with the joneses and Virginia Tech and Clemson should yield championship contenders.  Fortunately for Bobby Bowden, both of these games will be hosted in the stadium that bears his name.  The ‘Noles ACC road schedule includes game at Miami, North Carolina State, Georgia Tech and Maryland.  Their schedule is favorable and lines up nicely for them to rebound from their recent woes.  QB Drew Weatherford will no longer have to look over his shoulder at Xavier Lee, which may help his confidence, but Coach Bowden has two sophomore sensations, Christian Ponder and D’Vontrey Richardson, waiting in the wings if the senior can’t get the job done.  Weatherford has the tools on offense in RB Antone Smith and an experienced wide receiving corps to keep the ball moving.  Whether their defense can return to championship form, however, will determine whether we’ll be hearing a healthy tomahawk chop late in the season.

South Florida:  The Bulls will be hard-pressed to equal the success they had last season, which was arguably the greatest in the history of the program.  USF was ranked as high as number two nationally.  Three consecutive mid-season losses, however, brought USF back to the middle of the pack of the Big East conference standings.  They were also humiliated by Oregon in the Sun Bowl, outscored by five touchdowns.  The Bulls return junior QB Matt Grothe who led last year’s team in both passing and rushing.  Someone else in the backfield will have to relieve him of this offensive burden if the Bulls want to seriously contend for a conference title.  The Bulls 2008 out-of-conference schedule features some respectable opponents in North Carolina State and UCF on the road and Kansas at home.  The contest against the Jayhawks may serve as a litmus test for the rest of their season.  Their conference road schedule is not any easier as they’ll have to travel to Louisville, Cincinnati and West Virginia.  With many Big East teams losing key players to the NFL draft, the Bulls might be able to take advantage of their returning experience and finish atop the conference standings.

Central Florida: Like Jim Leavitt in Tampa, UCF head coach George O’Leary continues to build a strong program in a state traditionally dominated by Florida, Florida State and Miami football.  Competing for athletes against the big three is no easy task, but O’Leary continues to bring in young talent.  For the Knights to repeat as Conference USA champs, they’ll have to do so without the services of stud running back Kevin Smith, who left early for the NFL draft.  Also departing was senior quarterback Kyle Israel, which means UCF will essentially be starting anew from the offensive end.  Mike Greco or Joe Weatherford will likely compete for snaps as Israel’s replacement.  Their defense which ranked near the top of the conference in most statistics may have to hold down the fort until the offense can get their feet wet.  UCF has scheduled two difficult out-of conference road games against Big East opponents, Boston College and Miami.  The conference road schedule includes games at UTEP, Tulsa, Marshall and Memphis while they host SMU, Memphis, Southern Miss and UAB.