CFB Playoff Rankings: Florida State & UCF 'Back-to-Back'
With the third edition of the College Football Playoff rankings, the Florida State Seminoles and the UCF Knights found themselves right next to each other at No. 19 and No. 20, and the two best teams in the Sunshine State.
In last week’s poll, the two schools were actually ranked next to each other, but in reverse order of which program was ranked ahead. It was UCF at No. 22 and FSU at No. 23.
During a hard-fought victory, UCF went on the road and knocked off Tulane 38-31. FSU also went on the road, pummeling Syracuse 38-3. The Knights are now 5-1 in the American Athletic Conference and 8-2 overall. The Seminoles are 5-3 in the Atlantic Coast Conference and 7-3 overall.
Regardless of whether one believes the Noles or Knights are better than the other, based on consistency, these are the two best college football teams in the state of Florida.
While some people might lump the Florida Gators into that mix, they are 3-4 in the SEC and 6-4 overall. Florida has been a more volatile team than FSU or UCF.
A 29-26 win over now No. 10 Utah was great, but then followed by a home loss to Kentucky by a score of 26-16. The up and down season made it hard to consider Florida above FSU and UCF.
The Seminoles had a three-game losing streak with losses to Wake Forest, North Carolina State and Clemson. Clemson was the only game that FSU truly struggled in. The Tigers are now No. 9 in the College Football Poll, 7-0 in the ACC, and 9-1 overall.
The Noles have also knocked off now No. 6 LSU in New Orleans, No. 24 North Carolina State on the road, as well as outsourcing its last two ACC opponents by a score of 83-6. That’s domination.
UCF played poorly in the second half of their 20-14 home loss to Louisville, and also shot itself in the foot during a 34-13 road loss to East Carolina.
UCF's Ricky Barber was impressive versus Tulane.
Rebecca Warren-USA TODAY Sports
On the positive side, the Knights defeated No. 25 Cincinnati at home, No. 21 Tulane on the road, SMU at home, and Memphis on the road. UCF has a three-game winning streak and is playing its best football of 2022. Beyond the Noles, Knights, and Gators, two programs of note in Florida have been disappointing.
The Miami Hurricanes were one of the two teams that got drilled by the Seminoles during the past two games, losing 45-3 at home. Miami has earned a 3-3 record in the ACC and 5-5 record for its season total.
Miami could still finish with an even record by season’s end, but a road trip to Clemson this weekend will be followed by a home game against Pittsburgh. Neither of those games will provide an easy victory.
The USF Bulls have struggled this season with an 0-6 record versus the AAC and a 1-9 mark overall. The Bulls will host UCF on Nov. 26 for one last War on I-4 matchup. It could be the last time the two programs meet for a long time with UCF heading to the Big 12 Conference.
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