Miami sends Florida into the bottom 25 and Florida State joins them

Miami’s total dominance in a 41-17 win over Florida on Saturday sent the Gators into the CBS Sports “College football rankings: Florida, LSU, Clemson among Power Four teams in first bottom 25 of 2024 season. Florida State is also ranked in the bottom 25 teams by CBS Sports and ESPN.

The first full weekend of college football couldn't have gone better for Miami fans. Miami dominated Florida in almost every way. Miami outgained Florida 529 to 261 yards, had a 25 to 17 edge in first downs, had eight tackles for loss, two sacks and held Florida to 122 passing yards.

Miami converted five of its 10 third-down attempts and held Florida to one of nine. Mario Cristobal and Billy Napier both entered the 2024 season needing to turn their programs around after finishing under .500 in their first two seasons. Cristobal appears to have the team to do that in 2024.

After Florida State's 0-2 start and Clemson's 34-3 loss to Georgia, Miami is now the favorite to win the ACC. Miami now has a 26.2 percent chance to win the ACC, with Louisville in second place at 25.1 percent. Clemson is a distant third at 12.9 percent. After an 0-2 start in the ACC, Florida State now has a 0.5 percent chance to win the ACC.

“8. Florida 0-1 | Billy Napier is on a mission to find out just how hot a seat can really get before it's violently dethroned. We're reaching volcano-level temperatures after a 41-17 loss to Miami. Hey, at least there are some nice basements in Central Florida he could hide in if the pressure gets too much.”

– Will Backus, CBS Sports

Despite their 0-2 start, Florida State is ranked further than Florida in the bottom 25, sitting at 19th. Bacuks mentions that after Florida State lost to Georgia Tech in week zero, people joked that they would be the first team to hold the 17th spot in the ACC by themselves. FSU is now the first team to be ranked 17th in the ACC in consecutive weeks.

Backus said what many others have said since Florida State lost to Boston College on Saturday night: You can't buy a good football team. He's referring to Clemson and Florida State suing the ACC. Not only is Miami the favorite to win the ACC, but it now has a 12.5-point lead over Florida State, according to FanDuel.

A lot can happen before Florida State comes to Hard Rock Stadium on October 26. Miami fans can be cautiously optimistic. After a 4-0 start in 2023, Miami went 3-6 and finished the season 7-6. The 4-0 start included a win over Texas A&M. Miami will have to stay focused each week.