TAMPA, Fla. — It only took seven days for the early-season hopes of Florida and Florida State fans to be dashed as both squads have disappointed.
Florida State University's (FSU) fall is even more ominous as the Seminoles began the season ranked 10th in the AP Poll and have fallen completely out of the rankings after losses to Georgia Tech and Boston College. FSU has a week off to prepare for Memphis.
UF's Gators, meanwhile, showed little fight while being dismantled at home last week by Miami 41-17. The Hurricanes moved up to No. 12 with the strong showing and will take on Florida A&M on Saturday for their home opener.
University of Central Florida (UCF) is hosting Football Bowl Subdivision foe Sam Houston State, leaving a Saturday night spotlight on USF, which is traveling to Tuscaloosa to face No. 4 Alabama.
USF showed plenty of grit a year ago while hosting the Tide. Despite the Bulls’ 17-3 loss to Alabama at Raymond James Stadium last fall, USF outplayed the Crimson Tide for stretches of that game. The Tide needed a fourth-quarter touchdown to put away that tight contest.
A closer look at the games
Florida State (0-2) is off.
Saturday, Sept. 7
Sam Houston State (1-0) at UCF (1-0), 6:30 p.m. ESPN+
This is the first meeting between the programs. Last week, the Knights rushed for 454 yards, the second most in program history and the most by a Power 4 conference since 2022. RJ Harvey led the attack with 11 carries for 142 yards and two touchdowns. Quarterback KJ Jefferson got off to a slow start in his debut with the UCF, completing seven of 14 passes for 164 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. The Knights' defense held Rhode Island to nine first downs, and special teams blocked a punt. Sam Houston is in its second season as a Football Bowl Subdivision team and is a Conference USA member. The Bearkats defeated Rice 31-14 in their opener, and quarterback Hunter Watson threw for 229 yards and two touchdowns and had 57 yards rushing. Coach K.C. Keeler is the only coach in Football Championship Series history to win national titles at multiple schools (Delaware, 2003; Sam Houston, 2020).
Saturday, Sept. 7
Samford (0-1) at Florida (0-1), 7 p.m., ESPN+, SEC Network
Both teams lost their season-openers and are hoping to get on the winning track. The Gators gave up five touchdowns in a 41-17 loss to then-No. 19 Miami in The Swamp. Florida's defense allowed 529 yards of total offense and managed just 261 yards of their own. Quarterback Graham Mertz completed 11 of 20 passes for 91 yards before leaving the game with a concussion. Highly touted freshman DJ Lagway is expected to get the start at quarterback. In three series last week, Lagway led Florida to a touchdown, threw an interception and ran for 20 yards. Florida posted 139 rushing yards. Samford lost to West Georgia 38-29 last week but totaled 465 yards of offense, including 307 passing yards. The Gators, who have one of the toughest schedules in college football this season, need a victory against the FCS Bulldogs.
Saturday, Sept. 7
USF (1-0) at Alabama (1-0), 7 p.m., ESPN
USF will complete the back-half of its home-and-home series with Southeastern Conference foe Alabama on Saturday night, traveling to Tuscaloosa to try to repeat (and complete) a near-upset performance of a year ago. Bulls quarterback Byrum Brown threw for 152 yards and ran for 74 more with a score in the USF season-opening victory against Bethune-Cookman University. The Bulls also rushed for 231 yards. It may be tough sledding against a ‘Bama squad now under new coach Kalen DeBoer as quarterback Jalen Milroe, who didn’t play last year against USF, is coming off a five-touchdown (three passing and two rushing) performance last week in the Tide’s 63-0 kickoff win against Western Kentucky. The Hilltoppers managed only 145 yards of offense.
In-state special
Saturday, Sept. 7
Florida A&M (1-0) at No. 12 Miami (1-0), 6 p.m., ESPN+, ACC Extra
Miami opens its home schedule after a dominating nationally televised romp at The Swamp over the Gators. The Miami defense stifled Florida, and transfer quarterback Cam Ward was electric, throwing for 385 yards and three scores in the win. The Hurricanes jumped seven spots to No. 12 and have their best ranking since cracking the top 10 late in the 2020 season. Miami will be without standout defensive lineman Rueben Bain Jr. for at least one game and possibly more because of a soft-tissue injury, Hurricanes coach Mario Cristobal said. Meanwhile, FAMU comes into the game off a 22-18 win against South Carolina State. The Rattlers' last win against an FBS opponent was 1979, against Miami.