Sunshine Seven: Week 1 Recap

Weekly Observations(s)

1 – The State of Florida maybe in for a down year when it comes to wins and losses

FSU looks to be the bell cow of the State and no one looks even remotely close to catching them in the rankings. It usually comes down to the "Big 3" but UM after last Monday nights lack luster performance coupled with the fact UF plays in such a tough conference that it leads sports fans to believe this is FSU’s Ranking to lose. Compound that with the fact that UCF and USF are rebuilding as well as FAU and FIU being cellar dwellers the State as a whole is looking very down when it comes to on field play.

2 – UF and FSU could give a damn about what you think when it comes to how they punish players

This week both programs reinstated players under controversial circumstances. Florida had three players that were under suspension for one game whereas Florida State had a player out indefinitely. Let’s start with the Florida trio..

The three players suspended were: Defensive Tackle Jay-nard Bostwick, Wide Receiver Demarcus Robinson and Defensive Tackle Darius Cummings. All were suspended for various rules that they broke at the end of the previous season or during the offseason. The penalty for each player was the season opener against Idaho. Well, as you all might have known, last weekend the Gators played one game at their home stadium "The Swamp" and had to eventually call the game first due to lightning and then intermittent torrential downpours that left the field… Swampy (too easy, I had to). Well, as of yesterday the game doesn’t count for the wins and losses at the end of the year but Coach Muschamp decided to vacate the suspensions and all players are full go for next weekend’s contest. National media have taken this story and run with it and Muschamp has angrily refuted their criticism but to be honest… The media outlets are right on this one. The fact that most people may not realize though about the game being cancelled is that game should have been an easy win for the Gators, now it’s off the schedule. Coach Muschamp really REALLY needs a good season and the contest last weekend took some padding away from what could possibly now only be a seven win season. So, sure Coach.. The players paid their penance at practice or whatever (is that what he meant?). But the fact of the matter is, he needs wins and these players help stack those odds in his favor next weekend.

Florida State… This situation is a joke, I’m sorry. Jesus "Bobo" Wilson was charged a little over two months ago with grand theft of a vehicle (a motorized scooter) on the FSU Campus. The owner had left the keys in the scooter while he went off to class and when he came back it was gone. Wilson used it for transportation around the area for six days as well as racked up almost $1,000 in damage to the vehicle before Police seized him and the dinged up scooter. Due to this incident he was not allowed to participate in games but allowed to practice with the team.

What makes this pathetic in my mind was the way he was brought back into the fold. Wilson was pushing for a starting position as a wideout this season and if you watched the FSU game is was Rashad Greene and everyone else when it came to passing distribution. Greene alone caught 11 of the 25 completed pass attempts and racked up 203 of the 270 yards thrown; he needs a buddy to help him out. Oh, guess what, here we are!! Wilson has now been reinstated back to the team and can play next weekend. Please.

Sunshine Seven Rankings Quick Breakdowns

Florida State

LAST WEEKS RANK: 1

THIS WEEKS RANK: 1

SCORE: Florida State 37 – Oklahoma State 31

THOUGHTS:

For all those that thought FSU would simply "reload" after last season (myself included) it apparently doesn’t look so easy to do in theory. The talent lost to the NFL Draft as well as to graduation led to the Seminoles struggling out of the starting blocks. We’ll have to see if the reigning National Champs can keep their mental sharpness as the season winds on.

University of Miami

LAST WEEKS RANK: 2

THIS WEEKS RANK: 4

SCORE: Miami 13 – Louisville 31

THOUGHTS:

We’ve pretty much covered it and will continue to cover last week’s events here at SOTU so I won’t go into too much detail. The defense played better in the opener against a top 35 opponent then I’ve seen in the last few seasons. Previously against that type of competition they’d give up 450+ yards and get only one or two sacks. The Cardinals were able to muster about 350 total yards and UM came away with 4 sacks. An improvement but not world beating. The offense was incredible predictable and at times seemed to harm themselves with inopportune penalties as well as allowing vicious hits on their true freshman quarterback, Brad Kaaya.

Florida

LAST WEEKS RANK: 3

THIS WEEKS RANK: 2

SCORE: Did not play game verse Idaho due to Weather Conditions

THOUGHTS:

Not much to say until they play. They get another cupcake this week in Eastern Michigan. Since they didn’t play I’ll leave you with this..

Central Florida

LAST WEEKS RANK: 4

THIS WEEKS RANK: 3

SCORE: UCF 24 – Penn State 26

THOUGHTS:

This contest was one of the most thrilling games to start the college football season last weekend. The lead went back and forth between the teams and Penn State knocked in the game winning field goal as time expired. All you can hope for is that the Irish fans in attendance knew what was going on..

South Florida

LAST WEEKS RANK: 5

THIS WEEKS RANK: 5

SCORE: USF 36 – Western Carolina 31

THOUGHTS:

USF was battling with a lower tier division 1AA team in Western Carolina and right before half gave up a 47 yard touchdown run with no time left on the clock, 14-3 at half, uh-oh. Fear not, sunshine staters, the Bulls clawed their way back and pulled out the win. The reason they were dropped in the rankings is simple: they should have beaten this team by 30. Instead they pulled out a competitive win by only a five point margin. Things aren’t looking so good for Coach Taggart and his young bunch moving forward..

Florida Atlantic

LAST WEEKS RANK: 6

THIS WEEKS RANK: 6

SCORE: FAU 7 – Nebraska 55

THOUGHTS:

Nothing really went right for the Owls in this one. They were meant to be a sacrificial lamb to the Children of the Co-I mean the Cornhuskers and they executed their role perfectly. Nebraska racked up 498 rushing yards as well as poured on 286 passing yards for good measure by three different QBs along the way.

Florida International

LAST WEEKS RANK: 7

THIS WEEKS RANK: 7

SCORE: FIU 12 – Bethune-Cookman 14

THOUGHTS:

For the second straight season FIU lost to 1AA opponent BCC. This time in grandiose fashion. FIU’s freshman QB led a touchdown scoring drive with 5 minutes left in the game to bring the score to 14-12 BCC. The Golden Panthers attempted a two point conversion and failed. They then got the ball back with very little time left but marched down the field for a no time left field goal to win… They went for the 19 yard field goal to win the game and fumbled the snap.. They lost… with no time left. Yeap, it’s going to be that type of season..