Sunshine Seven Week 2: Knight Fall

Each week State of The U does a power ranking based on the 1A football programs in the state. Where does your team rank? Check it out in the article below. We have graphs too if you don't like words.

By NOVAcane@emdegee89 Sep 9, 2015, 7:24am EDT

The Knights were supposed to crush the Golden Panthers. "Supposed to" being the key phrase.

Opening Thoughts

Upstart FIU Gets Marquee Win Over UCF

I'll be honest, not many people saw this coming. Not even the Golden Panthers probably. Well, maybe Ron Turner their Head Coach did but this is still a stunner on many levels that will reverberate around the state all season long.

The result has yielded a few headlines. First: is UCF in trouble? As I said in last week's preview, UCF should compete for the AAC title (it will always be the Big East to me...) this game could be a very bright and loud siren that George O'Leary and his staff may have their work cut out for them heading into the rest of the 2015 season with still games at Stanford and at South Carolina over the next three weeks.

Second: can FIU ride this wave to bigger and better things? Whether you follow Conference USA or are just a football junkie you know the conference is ripe for the taking due to there not being a truly dominant force in either division. If FIU can get by Indiana in their next contest, watch out. Two power five victories for a non-power five conference member is nothing to scoff at.

Cupcakes for Everyone!!

Miami, Florida State, Florida and South Florida all played 1AA opponents and destroyed the competition by a combined score of 215-32. These games accomplished what they were supposed to for both sides. The 1AA teams filled their coffers and the favored teams were able to get a preseason game in that will count towards their win total.

FAU Doesn't Play Defense, At All

To be fair, Tulsa didn't play much defense either but the end result should be troubling for FAU as they were downed by the Golden Hurricanes (is that a thing?) 47-44. Jaquan Johnson commanded the offense both in the passing game with 260 yards and two touchdowns as well as in the running game by thundering for 97 more yards. Tulsa just had more, unfortunately.

With the Owls facing off with Miami next week we'll see if their offense can keep the aerial and ground assaults humming. Odds are, the other Hurricanes will put up a little more of a fight than the team from Oklahoma.

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Sunshine Seven Ranks

1- Miami: 1-0, 0-0

Next Week's Opponent: @ FAU

Last Week's Opponent: Bethune-Cookman, Won 45-0