Miami-FSU Means Nothing Now

I apologize. I was a little misleading in the headline. This game has some meaning...the victor will still have an outside shot at winning their respective divisions. How sad is that? This game used to decided who was No. 1 in all of college football. Now it is about keeping fledgling division title hopes alive.

The Seminoles enter the game coming off a second-straight loss to Wake Forest. (I am shaking my head, too.) It is not much better in Miami. Last week, the once proud Hurricanes lost to Georgia Tech in the Orange Bowl for the second straight time. The same Orange Bowl where Miami once won 58 straight.

Offseason shake ups of both coaching staffs have yet to show any tangible results on the field. Both teams still lack direction on offense and display a shrinking talent gap among their foes. In the glory days, the only team that had as much talent as Miami was Florida State and vice-versa.

There really is no reason for either school's struggles. Sure you can point to the parity in college football. But while the rest of the college football world looks at South Florida as a sign of change. Miami and FSU see the Bulls as a reminder of what they once were -- a talented, fearless team from Florida.

When the ACC expanded, this game was envisioned as the cornerstone of the conference. Now it is an afterthought. The teams will continue to meet annually, so some day the rivalry will mean something again. But that day might be a lot further away than anyone associated with the programs would like to admit.