Part of the problem is that the big three college programs used to be the only 1-A schools in the state, and therefore got the pick of the litter when it came to in-state bluechip recruits. Now, there are at least 6 1A programs and the talent well has been diluted.
Plus, Miami has gone through probation after the mess Dennis Erickson left, and the U. just doesn't have that same aura they did in the late 80's-early 90's. The low point came on Saturday when Louisville blew them out, which almost guarantees that Larry Coker will lose his job.
St. Bobby lost his best assistants and the replacements, like his son, are mediocre to just plain awful. Florida State can still recruit, but the rest of the ACC has started to catch up.
Florida was definitely hurt when Spurrier left, but is the only one that seems to have held everything together, relatively speaking. As bad a coach as Zook was, he could still recruit, and Urban Meyer is reaping the profits.
As for the pros, J'ville looks to have a defense that is dominating, and the 9-0 win is misleading from an offensive view in that they beat the defending champs, who also have a pretty good D.
Now, Miami and Tampa Bay, Culpepper is better than he's displayed through the first two weeks, but I understand Harrington is getting the start this weekend. Is Saban getting desperate, or is the knee still bothering Daunte? As for the Bucs, I always felt Chris Simms was overrated, even in college, where he had a tendency to self-destruct in big games. All I can figure is he's decided to take the whole offense with him this time, because no TD's in two games is bad for any NFL team.
Thank you. Nice to see a little constuctive discussion on the subject.
Good post. My take, fwiw:
FSU--Bobby Bowden is just too darned old now. He makes few decisions and when he decided FSU would join the ACC he doomed the team to drop the level of the rest of the league--instead of the other way around. Now they are mired in the situation of having lousy coaches, plus they recruit players who likely won't qualify academically, which is why so many wash out before stepping on campus.
I recently saw on the FSU Warchant message board they are actually asking if they can get the hated Steve Spurrier for a coach! Sad for them.
MIAMI--Bad coach and bad recuiting. Coker is also too old to relate to players and they also recruit questionable "student-atheletes". The kid they got to campus with something like a dozen arrests on his record finally washed out this year.
FLORIDA--Last year were still realing from the Zook years, INCLUDING the recruiting, which is why they are getting a lot of meaningful contributions from true freshmen. They are on the upswing with a great young coach the players respect. FSU and UM are not.