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CORAL GABLES, Fla. — This past weekend was one to forget for college football in Florida, as the state’s teams faced a dismal showing over a total of eight games involving FBS and FCS programs. Despite the excitement of the season, not a single victory was recorded, marking a low point for the state’s football programs.
On Saturday, Florida’s seven FBS schools—Miami, Florida, Florida State, UCF, South Florida, Florida Atlantic, and Florida International—were all in action, but unfortunately, it resulted in an unprecedented combined record of 0-5. This matched a similar unfortunate occurrence from October 10, 2020, highlighting a troubling trend for the state’s football landscape.
Miami’s perfect season came to an abrupt halt with a narrow 28-23 defeat against Georgia Tech. Florida State endured a brutal loss against Notre Dame, falling 52-3, while Florida lost 49-17 to Texas. UCF faced a heartbreaker, losing 35-31 to Arizona State, and South Florida was defeated 28-7 by Navy. The poor results left Florida State coach Mike Norvell expressing distress, lamenting over his team’s dismal record of 1-9 after such a promising start where they were favored to win their conference.
The grim results of this weekend were compounded by the overall struggles of the state’s teams throughout the season. As the 20th year in which Florida has hosted seven FBS teams unfolds, it is shaping up to be one of the worst in this era. Currently, Miami stands at 9-1 and maintains a glimmer of hope for a spot in the ACC championship game. In stark contrast, no other team from Florida boasts a winning record at this juncture.
Miami’s head coach, Mario Cristobal, remains optimistic about the rest of the season, emphasizing that the Hurricanes have everything to play for. Yet, other teams are not enjoying the same fortune. South Florida and Florida both have a record of 4-5, UCF sits at 4-6, Florida International stands at 3-6, Florida Atlantic is at 2-7, and Florida State’s record is a bleak 1-9. The possibility that Miami may be the only program to qualify for a bowl game this year is a stark contrast to the state’s rich football history.
Florida coach Billy Napier, after the defeat to Texas, highlighted the encouraging potential of young talent within his squad, expressing faith that this challenging experience will pave the way for future success.
When looking at the overall performance this season, the combined record of Florida’s FBS teams currently stands at 27-39, which translates to a winning percentage of just .409. This woeful performance is close to the all-time low since the inception of seven FBS programs in the state, which occurred in 2021 when teams accumulated a .407 winning percentage, going 35-51.
This Saturday was particularly brutal, marking only the sixth occasion since 1978 where Florida’s premier teams—the Hurricanes, Seminoles, and Gators—suffered losses on the same day. The additional losses from UCF and USF whittled the state’s record to a staggering 0-8 when including FCS competitors Florida A&M, Bethune-Cookman, and Stetson. Florida A&M fell to Prairie View 31-12, Bethune-Cookman lost a thrilling five-overtime matchup 25-23 against Southern, and a winless Marist team triumphed over Stetson 40-31.
The misery did not end with Saturday’s games, as Florida Atlantic’s 49-14 loss to East Carolina on Thursday extended the state’s weekend tally to a disheartening 0-9. The one bright spot for Florida’s football scene was Florida International University, as the FIU Panthers were spared the weekend’s misfortune since they did not compete.
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