Blake Barnett has slowed down lately./STEVEN MUNCIE
Wednesday, 4 a.m.
5 Observations
1. So far, they haven't lost any. Why, then, do I feel as if USF might lose five games this season? In their match-ups at Houston, at Temple, Cincinnati, UCF and a bowl game, they may be deserved underdogs with that nightmarish defense.
2. Any day that Urban Meyer loses should be declared a national holiday. There should be parades and department store sales and free Skittles. Every radio should play "Walking on Sunshine."
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Franks has been much better this season./STEVE MUNCIE
3. You know how you can tell a real rivalry? You can remember games and moments as if they are a great music album. And so it is with Florida and Georgia, the World Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party, where sometimes you wonder if the coaches are taking part.
4. Here's a hint for FSU about Clemson. They're even better than Samford. It's a tough stretch run for the Seminoles, who need at least one big win to validate Willie Taggart's hiring.
5. Isn't it odd how every time Miami has a good win, there are fans screaming that the U is back. When the U was out front, it won a lot of those games. Let me know when you have the most talented roster in the nation, guys.
They Said It
"It's not that we're looking for excuses because we have some good talent. But it's not like we're walking out there with a seasoned team."
-- Charlie Strong, USF coach, on his team's youth
“Tough challenge for our guys. Georgia is an excellent football team. Very balanced football team. Offensively, they run the ball very effectively. They have a veteran offensive line. They have playmakers at running back that can run for power and speed and explosive home runs. Great receivers on the perimeter and the quarterback does a great job of managing the game and getting them in the right plays; a really good passer who does a nice job getting the ball out to his receivers out on the edge. So they can put up a lot of points."
-- Dan Mullen, Florida coach, on facing Georgia
“If you want to be the man, you’ve got to beat the man. So it’s a great opportunity for the Noles, against a really, really good football team.”
-- Willie Taggart, FSU coach, on facing Clemson
“It’s been addressed. It was not very mature obviously. He didn’t break any laws. He didn’t break any NCAA rules. He’s in good standing, but the image is not good. We don’t like that. He’s just got to be more mature and more wise with what he does. I didn’t like it. He knows that. He knows that it was not a very wise thing to do.”
-- Mark Richt, Miami coach, on a video posted by N'Kosi Perry
“There is still plenty of stuff to play for, obviously bowl games and that stuff. Obviously, that stuff is still alive, but I don’t think we can think that way. We got to think about getting better each day and winning this week.”
-- Lane Kiffin, FAU coach, on what his team has to play for.
Player of the Week
Get ready, USF. Houston's D'Eriq King is coming. King had 413 yards passing in a win over Navy a week ago, with a quarterback rating of 183.1. He also had 56 yards rushing.
Team of the Week
Eastern Michigan? They lost to Eastern Michigan? There for a while, you might have thought such a loss would define Purdue's season. Then the Boilermakers came out and thumped Ohio State, 49-20.
Purdue, which no one has paid attention to since Bob Griese went there, scored 28 points in the fourth quarter on the vaunted Buckeyes' defense.
It was such a devastating loss that reports of friction between Ohio State coach Urban Meyer and athletic director Gene Smith have emerged, as well as concerns about Meyer's health.
Purdue is now 4-3 on the season.
Computer Rankings
Colley Billingsley Sagarin A&H Wolfe Massey
Florida 6 6 12 5 4 8
UCF 11 13 28 12 14 13
USF 16 27 67 16 15 51
FSU 65 58 47 68 66 52
FIU 60 71 100 63 68 87
FAU 86 74 103 88 84 84
Florida's Leading Passers
10. McKenzie Milton, UCF 296.2
22, Deondre Francois, FSU 265.6
26. Blake Barnett, USF 258.6
40. Chris Robison, FAU 234.1
48. James Morgan, FIU 228.1
Florida's Leading Rushers
3. Jordan Cronkrite, USF 143.3
26. Devin Singletary, FAU 95.1
57. Travis Homer, Miami 75.6
85. Cam Akers, FSU 65.7
104. Adrian Killins, UCF 61.3
Florida's Leading Receivers
26. Javon Durante, FAU 87.3
66. C.J. Worton, FIU 70.7
67. Gabriel Davis, USF 70.4
68. Nyqwan Murray, FSU 69.6
70. Randall St. Felix, USF 69.1
Leading Sackers
2. Brian Burns, FSU 9.0
12. Jachai Polite, Florida 7.0
38. Shaquille Quarterman, Miami 5.0
38. Jonathan Garvin, Miami 5.0
38. Joe Jackson, Miami 5.0
Florida's Offensive Ratings
6. UCF 537.1
11. USF 505.0
25, FAU 463.6
50. FIU 425.6
66. Florida 408.3
73. Miami 399.4
98. FSU 364.1
Florida's Defensive Ratings
2. Miami 237.0
22. Florida 323.3
54. FSU 371.7
59. FIU 374.7
73. UCF 385.4
88. USF 409.7
112. FAU 450.8
Ranking the One-Loss Teams
1. LSU
2. Oklahoma
3. Georgia
4. Michigan
5. Ohio State
Bottom 5
1. UConn
2. North Carolina
3. Rutgers
4. Louisville
5. Nebraska
Bowl Projections (Sports Illustrated)
1. Gasparilla. USF-UAB
2. Boca Raton FIU-Ohio
3. Bahamas FAU-Western Michigan
4. Military FSU-Army
5. Camping World Miami-West Virgina
6. Peach. Ohio State-Florida
7. Fiesta Georgia-UCF
Skins
(Games Won by Teams Beaten)
Florida 21
USF 16
UCF 16
Miami 12
FSU 12
FIU 8
FAU 7
Strength of Remaining Schedule
Team Opp. Record Ranked
FSU 31-4 4
USF 26-10 1
Florida 20-14 1
UCF 21-9 1
Miami 20-14 0
FAU 20-16 0
FIU 15-21 0
Best-Ever Players (Alabama)
(One of a Continuing Series)
1. Joe Namath
2. Julio Jones
3. Derrick Thomas
4. John Hannah
5. Mark Ingram
Random List
Best Vehicles
1. Georgia Tech's Rambling Wreck
2. Oklahoma's Sooner Schooner
3. South Carolina's Cockaboose
4. Oregon's Duck Truck
5. Clemson's "Paw-Bearer" Hearse
State Games
Miami at Boston College (Friday), 7 p.m.
Louisiana Tech at FAU (Friday), 6:30 p.m.
Clemson at Florida State, noon
Florida at Georgia, 3:30 p.m.
USF at Houston, 3:30 p.m.
FIU at Western Kentucky, 7:30 p.m.
National Games of Note
Iowa at Penn State, 3:30 p.m.
Arizona State at USC, 3:30 p.m.
Kentucky at Missouri, 4 p.m.
Washington State at Stanford, 7 p.m.
N.C. State at Syracuse, 7 p.m.
5 Closing Thoughts
1. It's a good thing that the BCS computers have zero to do with naming a national championship anymore. If the computers were accurate, I've always said, wouldn't they have the same results? No, because the data inputted is different, which leads to human error.
I still like to pay attention, but the swings are absurd. Take USF, which is as high as No. 16 in one poll but as low as No. 67 in another. In the Sagarin rankings, they're behind both UCLA (2-5) and Nebraska (1-6). I mean, don't you have to win some games? Isn't that a vital part of the input?
Speaking of Sagarin, he must have been bitten by a rabid mosquito. Of the six computer polls that dealt with the BCS title, he has the lowest rating for six of the seven schools in the state. He has FSU No. 47, which is the highest. Is he getting advice from Bobby Bowden or what?
2. When Urban Meyer gets beat, does he lose interest along the way? The Buckeyes don't lose often, but when they do, they seem to get clobbered They lost by 29 to Purdue this year (giving up 49), by 31 to Iowa last year (giving up 55) and by 31 to Clemson (giving up 31) in the playoffs the year before. They remain college football's biggest front-runners.
3. The first college game I covered was Florida-Georgia. I was there for fourth-and-dumb and I was there for run, Lindsay, run. I knew a guy who was a Georgia fan, and every year, he would by cheap sneakers to attend the game because "I don't want Florida dirt on them." When potty-training his son, he taught him to point and say "Florida...Florida."
4. One thought about Joey Bosa. He certainly has the right to leave his school -- underclassmen do it all the time. But why make an announcement in October? What? They wouldn't let him in the weight room otherwise?
5. The first time I covered FSU, the Seminoles were terrible, and they didn't appear to be going anywhere. No, it wasn't last Thursday.
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