{mosimage} Traditionally, as in the last 20+ years, there have been 3 dominant Florida teams; the Florida Gators, Florida Sate Seminoles and Miami Hurricanes. Now, the USF Bulls and UCF Knights can both argue that they could be mentioned in the same breath as these once dominant programs.

It's not that the original Big 3 are not dominant anymore, with UF winning the mythical title last year and Miami winning in 2001 but they've got competition.

Bobby Bowden is responsible for FSU becoming what it is today, a program that won 2 titles in the 90's, finishing in the top 5 in the polls 15 years straight. But Bowden is old and FSU's offense has stunk since Chris Rix started slinging footballs erratically all over the field. Miami is good but they have some rebuilding to do before they are a title contending power again.

Before UF was "upset" by Auburn, they could claim without argument that they were team to beat in the Sunshine State. But a funny thing happened: they lost and USF beat #5 West Virginia. Now, USF is ranked #6 in the AP poll and #9 in the USA Today poll, while UF is #9 and #7, respectively. Also, the one common opponent, Auburn, got beat by USF at home and beat UF at The Swamp. To quote Cubs late, great announcer Harry Carey, "Holy Cow!" To quote Cincinnati Reds late, great owner Marge Schott, "Smoke 'em if you got 'em!" Ok, I just wanted to write that.

Looking outside of the top 25, which you have to in order to find the other Florida powers, Miami, FSU and UCF have all picked up votes but not enough to garner a top 25 ranking. Granted, FSU and Miami have more votes than UCF but my oh my the waters are getting murky for the Big 3.

USF and UCF are having breakout seasons, the likes of which 10 years ago nobody would have dreamed except for a few people who have spent too much time drinking beer, smoking dope and popping sun blisters. UCF and USF are two of the largest schools not just in Florida but the entire nation, with UCF now ranking #5 in enrollment. UCF just got a new stadium and USF nearly filled the Buccanneers shared home against the Mountaineers. When UCF plays at USF on October 13, plan on it being sold out.

Recruiting

If you are a recruit, who would you rather play for, USF or Miami? How about a 3 or 4 star skill player recruit from the talent-rich Central Florida area who picked up a late offer from FSU but UCF has been in hot pursuit from the start? If you look at the ability to develop talent, overachieve and keep the team pointed toward a common goal of winning and improving, I say UCF.

Yeah, I said it, because FSU has been offensive on offense for 10 years now. UCF has pumped out talent like Brandon Marshall to the pro ranks and Kevin Smith is dominating at running back this year.

Coaching

Bulls Head Coach Jim Leavitt has proven to be a great coach who knows how to find leftover talent in the ultra talented Florida recruiting Circles. UCF Head Coach George O'Leary is a proven big time coach who made their new stadium possible and should be coaching at Notre Dame right now. Who else thinks Notre Dame would be better off with O'Leary? Who else thinks FSU and Miami would be better off with Leavitt or O'Leary? MEEEEE!

Just as I discussed in my last article dealing with these fictitious upsets, the 85 player scholarship limit has finally caught up with many top teams. All it takes is for FSU to lose a few guys every year to grades and early entrees to the professional ranks and USF to keep their guys going in the system for 5 years and, oh snap, these teams are pretty damn even.

These are the same reasons Wake Forest won the ACC last year and Northwestern strung together some good teams in the Big Ten a few years ago. It is also what makes programs like USC look so good; it's a lot tougher to dominate every year these days.

Back in the day, Bear Bryant and Woody Hayes could stock-pile talent without worries of running out of scholarships. They could snatch recruits for the sole purpose of preventing them for playing with competing teams. Now, those once second stringers are starters for USF/UCF and all of those other rising programs.

Is USF a top 10 team, maybe not. But their defense is about as tough as any and they don't have the pressure of the community viewing anything short of a championship as an absolute failure. These Florida boys may not always be better than the traditional big 3 and maybe most years they won't be able to compete but you better believe they are here to stay.

This won't sit well we the Big 3 but that does not matter. It's a new day. It's a new era. It's time for the Bulls and the Knights to shine.

Orlando and Tampa sit less than an hour apart and you better believe the "War on I-4" will be one of the most anticipated in-state match-up all season.

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