What Happened to College Football Teams in the State of Florida?

If Florida drops out of the Top 25—which could happen—it will be the first time in a very long time that no team from the state of Florida is ranked in the Top 25. What happened?

Florida is typically a hotbed of college football. Whether it's Florida challenging for SEC titles or Miami and Florida State dueling for ACC crowns, the sunshine state almost always has at least one team sitting among the 25 best in the nation.

This year may be different—at least at this point of the season.

The Florida Gators started hot enough, but were never ranked all that highly and have suffered two consecutive losses—albeit to the No. 2 and No. 1 teams in the nation respectively.

They started this week ranked at No. 17, and back-to-back losses may be enough to convince voters to eliminate the Gators from the polls.

Florida State was ranked as high as No. 5 in the nation at one point but has suffered three consecutive losses now—the last of which wasn't even to a ranked opponent. They were limply hanging onto a spot in the polls at No. 23. It's a given that they will no longer be a part of the polls next week.

Then there's Miami.

Miami started the season ranked, but an immediate loss to unranked Maryland knocked them out, another loss to No. 20 Kansas State has kept them out, and now a loss to No. 21 Virginia Tech will likely seal their fate outside of the Top 25 for the rest of the regular season.

What happened to one of the strongest states in college football?

Florida Lost Its Mojo with Urban Meyer

Don't get me wrong—Urban Meyer never played a down of Florida football.

However, as head coach, he helped put together a BCS Championship program that grew accustomed to being in the SEC title race and part of the BCS discussion.

His teams with Tim Tebow at the helm will be remembered for a very long time in Gainesville.

That's part of the problem with Florida right now. Expectations for this team have been exceptionally high.

Even the best teams in the history of college football have to take a step or two back following solid runs like Florida had during the 2008-2009 seasons.

It's just not that easy in this atmosphere to remain at the apex of the college football world.

Part of the reason they haven't been able to maintain such lofty heights is the turnover of talent. Yes, Tebow was a tremendous talent in college, but John Brantley is a different kind of player than Tebow—he wasn't able to play Tebow-esque football.

There was turnover on the offensive line, at skill positions and on the defense too. It just hasn't been the same Florida team that won SEC and National Titles.

Compounding that was the departure of Urban Meyer. Just when this team was looking for its own identity, Meyer left and Will Muschamp came in.

Muschamp may turn out to be a fantastic coach, but he's trying to install a new system with players who were accustomed to the old Gator way, and it hasn't been such a smooth transition.

The SEC is no cake-walk, and this team will need to get a lot of pieces in place to compete at an upper level. They don't get the benefit of playing a typical ACC or Big East schedule. They've got to play some of the best teams in the nation, as we've seen this year.

Florida may hold onto a spot in the rankings, but they have No. 15 Auburn on tap, and if they fail again, they'll be out.

Don't fret too much. They'll be back eventually.

However, big turnovers and poor timing have hurt the Gators, and they can't possibly look like the Gators that won it all following the 2006 and 2008 seasons.

Florida State, What Can I Say?

It seems that every year, the Seminoles start the season ranked.

Every year, they fall out of the rankings amid a woefully mediocre season.

This season is shaping up to look much the same.

At one point, Florida State was ranked inside the Top 10. Then they faltered.

A 10-point loss to No. 3 Oklahoma set them back a pace. A follow-up loss to No. 8 Clemson set them on the verge of falling out of the rankings.

Now, a loss to Wake Forest will drop them completely from the list.

The problems are a little difficult to pinpoint exactly.

For starters, I've believed all season that they were overrated. Yes, they finished the 2010 season with a 10-4 record, but what proof did we have that this year was going to be any better—or even as good?

E.J. Manuel is an exciting quarterback, but the rushing game was questionable even at the beginning of the year. The defense is relatively young.

They're also victims of a tough spot in the schedule. Now, there's no excuse for dropping to Wake Forest, but there's no shame in losing to Oklahoma and Clemson. Both programs are playing at a very high level right now.

They get a nice stretch of very winnable games leading up to their Nov.12th showdown with Miami and have a tough match with No. 17 Florida to end the season.

There's a chance to get back into things, but this team has failed to impress with their 2-3 start. It'll take every one of those wins, plus a little help to get back into the rankings.

Miami Is a Mess

The Hurricanes are in shambles.

From off-field issues and suspensions to dropped opportunities, this program is anything but a top-tier team right now.

This was almost another case of a team getting some love on name recognition alone.

Hey, before you get your knickers in a twist, Jacory Harris is one heck of a talented player and is likely the reason they get as much attention as they have gotten. And Lamar Miller is putting up solid numbers on the ground.

Of course, Allen Hurns and Tommy Streeter are dangerous threats.

In a nutshell, the offense looks very dangerous on paper. However, what about the defense?

This is a team that came out of 2010 with a 7-6 record, and there's been no real indication that they would arise above that. None at all.

Now they've started at 2-3, like their neighbors at State, and would need a minor miracle to work their way back into the rankings.

How far this program has fallen!

Once upon a time, the Hurricanes were among the elite-of-the-elite in college football. I remember those days—vaguely.

Al Golden has yet to show he can put the pieces together and get this program on the right track. It'll have to start with cleaning up the off-field issues, then getting the fundamentals under control.

He'll have to recognize that defense (eighth in the ACC in total defense) wins championships, and get that wrapped up as well.

Until then, don't expect anything different than what we've gotten out of Miami.