Huddle up! Here’s a look back at this weekend on the gridiron, with three key takeaways from the state’s football scene -- and a glimpse at what’s to come next week.
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Central Florida breaks through into rankings after win over Cincinnati
After the second week of the season when Florida and Florida State each beat a currently ranked team to start the year 2-0, you probably would’ve have made a lot of money at the time betting that Central Florida would be the state’s only ranked squad when November started.
But that’s where we are after the Knights entered the rankings at No. 25 following a 25-21 win over Cincinnati on Saturday, which snapped a three-game losing streak to the Bearcats.
Now on a six-game winning streak, the Knights next face back-to-back road tests at Memphis and Tulane.
With Florida State, Florida and Miami struggling, the best college football story in the state at the moment resides in Orlando.
Should Jaguars now be thought of as a disappointment?
A trip to jolly old England couldn’t lift the spirits of the Jacksonville Jaguars, who lost their fifth straight game on Sunday after falling to Denver in London, 21-17.
Despite being the NFL’s worst team each of the last two years, this season is starting to enter the disappointing category for the Jaguars.
After going 2-1, Jacksonville looked like it was a playoff team and ripe to take a weakened NFC South.
Instead, the losing streak has put the Jaguars at 2-6, and talk of draft positioning has already started once again.
Seminoles-Hurricanes resume rivalry
The words “Florida State vs. Miami” still doesn’t carry the weight is used to in the 80s and 90s, but there still will be some things at stake when the Seminoles play at the Hurricanes on Saturday night.
Florida State can become bowl-eligible for the first time under head coach Mike Norvell with a win, and the Seminoles also want to win consecutive games over the Hurricanes for the first time since 2016.
Miami, which prevailed 14-12 in overtime at Virginia on Saturday in an unusual game that didn’t feature any touchdowns, could be in danger of missing out on a bowl game in Mario Cristobal’s first year if it can’t beat the Seminoles.
With games against Clemson and Pittsburgh to close the year, beating both Florida State on Saturday and Georgia Tech the following week is the best path to a bowl for the Hurricanes.
No, there aren’t the national championship implications the game has had in the past. But it will still be worth a follow for fans of both teams.