Week 3 - Florida College Football Power Rankings

With Week 3 completed, its time to look back on what went on with the Florida teams. I’m here to offer an unbiased ranking of the state of Florida college football teams. This analysis is based off of the eye test, the records of each program, and a little expectation for what’s to come.

No sugar coating, so lets dive in!

FBS Programs in the State of Florida: 7 (Florida Gators, Florida Atlantic Owls, Florida International Panthers, Florida State Seminoles, Miami Hurricanes, South Florida Bulls, and UCF Knights)

1: Florida State Seminoles - Next Game - 9/23 @ Clemson - 12:00 PM - ABC

Ranking: Associated Press - 3rd, AFCA Coaches Poll - 3rd

Florida State struggled heavily against an inferior opponent this week. The Noles escaped with a 2 point victory, and were biting their nails down to the last possession as Boston College gave them the what for. Boston College had been playing unusually poor football this season having lost to Northern Illinois 27-24 in their opener, and then surviving vs Holy Cross with a fumble recovery in final minutes for a 31-28 win. FSU was dropped 1 spot in the AP poll for the lackluster performance, but a win is a win.

2: Miami Hurricanes - Next Game - Saturday, 9/23 - @ Temple - 3:30 PM ESPN2

Ranking: Associated Press - 20, AFCA Coaches Poll – 21

Miami has a hard hat mentality this season, and it's all about business with them. The Canes continued to show a lot of physicality and dominance in a 48-7 win over Bethune Cookman on Thursday night in what fans had dubbed “The Ed Reed bowl”. The mantra around the building is “Back to Work” and with that approach, Miami has ascended from unranked to 20th in the Nation. More to come.

3: UCF Knights - Next Game - 9/23 @ Kansas State - 8:00 PM - FS1

Ranking: Associated Press - Unranked (0) Votes, AFCA Coaches Poll - Unranked (5) Votes

UCF has been looking the part of a BIG12 team as their offense took off against Villanova in a 48-14 win. The Knights will open up Conference play as they face an angry Kansas State team that lost to Missouri this past weekend and dropped from #15 to unranked.

4: Florida International - Next Game - 9/23 vs Liberty - 6:30 PM

Ranking: Associated Press - Unranked (0) Votes, AFCA Coaches Poll - Unranked (0) Votes

FIU won yet another close game 24-17 against the University of Connecticut. Nothing special to report here, but the win moves them to 3-1 on the season. Liberty is up next on the schedule for the Panthers.

5. Florida Atlantic - Next Game - 9/23 @ Illinois - 3:#0 PM - BTN

Ranking: Associated Press - Unranked (0) Votes, AFCA Coaches Poll - Unranked (0) Votes

FAU went up to Clemson and came home with an L as they faced an unranked Clemson team looking to right the ship after poor performances in weeks 1 and 2. FAU quarterback Casey Thompson tore his ACL in the loss on Saturday and reportedly will miss the rest of the season. Thompson, a transfer from Nebraska and Texas, is in his sixth season of college football. Will the Owls back from that loss and pull even on the season? Let’s watch and find out.

6. Florida Gators - Next Game - 9/23 vs Charlotte - 7:00 PM

Ranking: Associated Press - 25th, AFCA Coaches Poll – Unranked (41) votes

The Gators extended their home winning streak against UT by beating them 29-16 in the Swamp. Tennessee hasn’t won a game in Gainesville in since September 20, 2003. Kudos to the Gators on a much needed win, and with Charlotte on the schedule this week, The Gators could move up to 3-1 on the season.

7: South Florida - Next Game - 9/23 vs Rice - 4:00 PM - ESPNU

Ranking: Associated Press - Unranked (0) Votes, AFCA Coaches Poll - Unranked (0) Votes

USF battled with #10 ranked Alabama and had a 3-0 lead for most of the first half. I’m not sure what Saban has going on in Tuscaloosa, but he’s seeing this season spiral as the writers dropped the Tide out of the top 10 to #13 after a poor showing against the Bulls. The fall out of the AP top 10 ended a 128-week run of Alabama being ranked in the top 10 of the poll, per the AP. It was the second-longest streak in history behind the Miami Hurricanes, who had 137 straight appearances in the top 10 from 1985-1993.

AP Top 25 - Not Released

Florida State – 3rd

Miami – 2oth

UCF – Unranked

Florida International – Unranked

Florida Atlantic – Unranked

Florida – 25th

South Florida – Unranked

USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll

Florida State – 3rd

Miami – 21st

UCF – Unranked

Florida International – Unranked

Florida Atlantic – Unranked

Florida – Unranked

South Florida – Unranked

With “games being played”, we’ll continue to revisit these standings each week over the course of the season.

Let us know your thoughts on the rankings in the comments below.