Florida’s comeback is a silver lining as much of Sunshine State’s 2022 college football season is disastrous

Thanks to Florida State, Sunshine State has avoided a completely overcast season again on the college gridiron. The Seminole’s breakthrough prevented disruptions like 2021, when six of his seven Football Bowl subdivision programs in the state failed to win more than his seven games.

FSU finished 13th in the polls and final College Football Playoff Rankings with a delightful Cheez-It Bowl victory over Oklahoma. Depending on how things shake out in the few remaining bowl seasons, it could move up to No. 10 in at least one poll. His six other FBS programs in the state were combined into one winning season.

However, the Tallahassee story doesn’t make it into the final standings of the Seminoles’ 10-3 season. Rather, it’s the big picture of what Mike Norvell is building with the program he’s brought on board to rescue.

“I told the team that this team would never be remembered for numbers alone,” he said, referring to the great round numbers on the win line following the bowl victory. They will be remembered just for the way they played, their passion, their characters and their love for each other.It meant a lot to this team and it meant a lot to our program.”

Before Nobel arrived at Florida State three years ago, the Seminoles had lost two straight seasons under Willie Taggart. That hasn’t happened at FSU since his mid-1970s, when his three coaches Larry Jones, Darrell Mudra, and Bobby Borden scored his fourth straight sub. 500 season.

Boden, whose first year at Florida State University was the final year of that forgettable stretch, built Knowles into a national force that would eventually lead to four decades of sustained success, including three national championships. , leading to an incredible 36-season winning streak. A bowl appears.

Norvell’s first two seasons of garnet and gold were unbeatable, at least on record, to Taggart’s two years. But when the 41-year-old Norvell arrived from Memphis, she started to turn around, at least when it came to culture, if not her winning column.

But the win was significant, and Novell’s diligence was evident on the 2022 scoreboard. His 4-0 start, which included a win over LSU, was decided by a blocked extra point with no time on the clock, but he was followed by a three-game losing streak. With a total of 18 points, it was their handling of tough times that showed the Seminoles were headed in the right direction. The response resonated in the form of a six-game winning streak culminated in a hard-fought bowl victory.

With so much progress on the recruiting trail and transfer portal, it’s no wonder Norvell spoke with pride in the bowels of Orlando’s Camping World Stadium after a Cheez-It shower.

“Everything they’ve had to go through, everything they’ve been through,” he said, trying to find the right words to match his pride level. For all the young people who have joined the journey, those who have chosen to be part of this family, those who have gone through it all.

All in all, the past few years have seen fans of seven FBS programs across the state experience ringers. I struggled through the worst of times. Still, the Knights were the only other team in the state to boast a winning record.

Here’s a glimpse of how Florida’s teams fared this season, ordered by number of wins.

Florida (10-3/5-3 ACC)

What Norvell has built has a look and feel that is more than a blip on the screen. The aforementioned job postings and portal successes seem to confirm that. The next step is to bump Clemson to win the ACC Atlantic and win their first conference title since 2014.

UCF (9-5/6-2 American)

Gus Malzahn’s Knights played 8-2 Navy, #17 in the AP, and #20, the highest ranked G5 team in the CFP, in a game on November 19th. The bounce house bounced in anticipation of UCF hosting the conference championship game and a possible appearance in the New Year’s Six Bowl. A 17-14 loss to the midshipmen still hasn’t completely derailed what’s ahead, but they’ve taken three losses in four games to end the season, including a championship game loss at Tulane. have started. UCF will join the Big 12 next season.

Florida (6-7/3-5 SEC)

Billy Napier’s bizarre first season saw him visit Utah, win the season opener, nearly lose to USF, get heartbroken in South Carolina, and then lose to Vandy for the first time since 1988. To Oregon State for the second consecutive 6-7 season. His bowl game ended an odd 10-year extension in the UF, with four coaches combined his four losing seasons and his three 10-win seasons. As with Nobel after taking over Tallahassee, Gainesville feels Napier is on the right track.

Miami (5-7/3-5 ACC)

When Mario Cristobal left Oregon to take over his alma mater, expectations were high for Coral Gables. His 7-5 run in 2021 was highlighted by the emergence of quarterback Tyler Van Dyke. The injury bug biting Van Dyke proved to be the least of the offense’s problems during the season when the unit went 10 quarters without finding the end zone at one point. The defense had its own problems during the season, including home embarrassments to Central Tennessee and Florida. The latter was a 45-3 disgrace. Cristobal should have fixed it, but what a rough start it was.

FAU (5-7/4-4 CUSA)

The program, which won an 11-win season and two conference titles under Lane Kiffin, went 5-7 in the last two years under Willie Taggart and lost his coaching job. (Taggert had dropped scores in both his seasons at FSU and in both his full seasons at FAU.) The Owls moved to America, where Tom Herman took over the program. Herman’s success in America with Houston led to his latest head coaching gig in Texas, which ended following the 2020 season, going 32-18 in four years.

FIU (4-8/2-6 CUSA)

After a 1-11 upset in Butch Davis’ final season, followed by a 0-5 virus upset, Mike McIntyre took over in 2020 and the Panthers brought several wins to the board . His FIU losing streak against FBS opponents reached 19, after which he won three games in five weeks and the Panthers went 4-4 heading into the final month of the season. Alas, his first three are 117 points combined and he’s lost four in a row, showing just how much of a challenge McIntyre has ahead.

USF (1-11/0-8 American)

Things don’t seem to get any worse for the Bulls. Jeff Scott was sacked with 4 wins and 26 losses in his 27 matches against FBS opponents, where he won just one. New coach Alex Goresh, who served as Josh Hupel’s offensive coordinator at Tennessee, took over a program sometimes teased for losing to Florida, Cincinnati and UCF by a combined 14 points in 2022, but defensively was markedly incompetent. Golesh and the program could help him find some footing in 2023 as the American half-dozen teams arrive from Conference USA, with UCF, Cincinnati and Houston leaving for the Big 12. It’s going to be a watered-down meeting with.