Football News

Florida College Football Power Rankings: Week Seven

The order is changing a bit in the Sunshine State.

By JohnReynolds@NextCaneUp Oct 21, 2020, 4:00pm EDT

Every team in Florida but one has lost so far this season, and the team that hasn’t, FAU, has only played one game. However, the state of Florida still has some teams with a chance left at the College Football Playoff or a major bowl game.

1: No.10 Florida Gators (2-1, 2-1 SEC)

Previous: 1, Last Week: Game against LSU postponed

Florida had a great start to their season, heading into a matchup against Texas A&M ranked fourth. However, the Florida defense struggled in that game, allowing 41 points, and a loss dropped UF down to No.10 in the polls. Last week the Gators looked to get back on track against LSU, but several members of the program, including Dan Mullen, tested positive for Covid-19, leading to that game being postponed.

It’s unclear when Florida will play again, most likely on October 31 against Missouri, but when they do, their defense will have to show a lot of improvement.

2: No.11 Miami Hurricanes (4-1, 3-1 ACC)

Previous: 2, Last Week: Won 31-19 against Pitt

Miami has struggled on offense a little over the last two weeks, scoring just 17 points against Clemson and scoring 31 on Pitt, but relying heavily on just a few explosive plays. However, those could be the best two defenses Miami plays this season, and they’ll look to have a better offensive performance this week against a struggling Virginia defense.

The Hurricanes did what they needed to do, and responded to a rough loss with a win. Now, they need to continue to improve and play well as the season goes on, and maybe they’ll get another chance to play Clemson in the ACC Championship Game.

3: UCF Knights (2-2, 1-2 AAC)

Previous: 3, Last Week: Lost 50-49 to Memphis

UCF took another loss last week, this time losing by one point against a solid Memphis team. The Knights had a chance to win the game at the end, with a last minute drive and a field goal attempt. Unfortunately for UCF, they missed the field goal and as a result dropped to 2-2 on the season. There was fighting on the sidelines after the game, and it looks like Josh Heupel will have some things to address this week.

The Knights will play Tulane this week. Tulane is a team UCF should beat, but after two losses in a row it remains to be seen how the Knights will respond to the challenge.

NCAA Football: Sun Bowl-Arizona State vs Florida State

4: Florida State Seminoles (2-3, 1-3 ACC)

Previous: 5, Last Week: Won 31-28 over No.5 North Carolina

Mike Norvell got a huge win in his first year at FSU last week, beating fifth-ranked North Carolina 31-28. After switching to quarterback Jordan Travis the Seminoles offense has taken some huge steps forward. On defense, FSU also looks improved, as they held a UNC team that has some of the best offensive talent in the ACC to just 28 points.

This week FSU goes on the road to play Louisville, a game that the Seminoles could easily win. After the first few weeks of the season, getting to 3-3 and looking significantly improved overall would be a huge boost for Mike Norvell and his program.

5: Florida Atlantic Owls (1-0, 1-0 C-USA)

Previous: 4, Last Week: Game against Southern Miss postponed

Florida Atlantic has played just one game this season, a win over Charlotte on October 3. The Owls looked solid in that game, overcoming a first half deficit to win. However, the challenge this week will be much more difficult. FAU will have to visit No.22 Marshall, one of the best Group of Five teams in the country.

Marshall will be an extremely difficult test for the Owls. Plus, to make matters worse, Marshall has played four games this season while FAU has played just one, and FAU will have spent three weeks without playing a game.

NCAA Football: East Carolina at South Florida

6: South Florida Bulls (1-4, 0-3 AAC)

Previous: 6, Last Week: Lost 39-37 to Temple

USF has been better than expected so far this season, despite what their record says. The only game that the Bulls truly haven’t been competitive in this season was a 52-0 loss against Notre Dame in week two. Other than that, USF has kept each game relatively close, and lost by just two to Temple last week.

This week, the Bulls will play Tulsa on Friday night. Just like every other game this season, Jeff Scott’s team will come in as the underdog, but they’ll hope to take another step forward as they build their program.

7: Florida International Panthers (0-2, 0-1 C-USA)

Previous: 7, Last Week: Game against Charlotte postponed

FIU has really struggled so far this season, losing to a solid Liberty team and then losing to Middle Tennessee, who was 0-4 coming into the game. The Panthers are also having to deal with the same problems as FAU when it comes to postponements and long stretches in-between games. All of that will make for a tough challenge for the rest of the season for FIU.

FIU plays Jacksonville State this weekend, a talented team that was leading FSU at halftime just a few weeks ago. It’ll be an interesting game for a Panthers team that needs a win.

The power rankings are changing a little bit week-to-week, and some big games coming up in a few weeks could change the order even more.