Seventeen Florida teams. One desk. One meaning.
By Nick Cerbone, Editor-In-Chief
Tampa Bay opens the World Series at Milwaukee on Oct. 23 at 8 PM ET, with Nick Martinez facing Brewers ace Jacob Misiorowski. The Rays held back Drew Rasmussen for Game 2 and lined up ALCS MVP Freddy Peralta for Game 3 at Tropicana Field.
Continue readingBowling Green Falcons at Buffalo Bulls Kickoff: 3:30 PM ET Market: Buffalo -3 FLSD House Model: Buffalo by 12.2 Lean: Buffalo. Our number sits 9.2 points off the market. 21+ in Florida. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER.
Boston College Eagles at Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Kickoff: 3:30 PM ET Market: Georgia Tech -6 FLSD House Model: Georgia Tech by 14.1 Lean: Georgia Tech. Our number sits 8.1 points off the market. 21+ in Florida. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER.
Texas A&M Aggies at Alabama Crimson Tide Kickoff: 3:30 PM ET Market: Alabama -13.5 FLSD House Model: Alabama by 7.5 Lean: Texas A&M. Our number sits 6.0 points off the market. 21+ in Florida. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER.
BYU Cougars at UCF Knights Kickoff: 3:30 PM ET Market: BYU -7 FLSD House Model: UCF by 4.2 Lean: UCF. Our number sits 11.2 points off the market. 21+ in Florida. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER.
Eastern Michigan Eagles at Ohio Bobcats Kickoff: 4:00 PM ET Market: Ohio -9.5 FLSD House Model: Ohio by 14.8 Lean: Ohio. Our number sits 5.3 points off the market. 21+ in Florida. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER.
Georgia State Panthers at Arkansas State Red Wolves Kickoff: 7:00 PM ET Market: Georgia State -2.5 FLSD House Model: Arkansas State by 9.1 Lean: Arkansas State. Our number sits 11.6 points off the market. 21+ in Florida. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER.
USC Trojans at Wisconsin Badgers Kickoff: 7:30 PM ET Market: USC -3 FLSD House Model: Wisconsin by 8.8 Lean: Wisconsin. Our number sits 11.8 points off the market. 21+ in Florida. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER.
Houston Cougars at Utah Utes Kickoff: 10:15 PM ET Market: Utah -6.5 FLSD House Model: Utah by 14.7 Lean: Utah. Our number sits 8.2 points off the market. 21+ in Florida. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER.
Big opinions. Full receipts.
Miami is 0-5 and comes off its bye to visit the 2-4 Jets at MetLife Stadium on Oct. 25 at 1 PM ET. It is the first division game for coach Jeff Hafley, and the Dolphins are trying to avoid an 0-6 start.
Continue readingBaker Mayfield practiced fully on Oct. 21 and Oct. 22 wearing a protective glove and is expected to start at Carolina on Oct. 25 after missing 3 games with a dislocated right thumb. The 1-5 Bucs open division play against the 3-2 Panthers.
Continue readingTampa Bay led Pittsburgh 16-3 after three quarters on Oct. 18 and lost 26-19 in overtime to fall to 1-5. Baker Mayfield, out since dislocating his right thumb on Sept. 27, is expected to practice on Oct. 21, with Jalon Daniels ready to start again at Carolina on Oct. 25 if he cannot go.
Continue readingTampa Bay beat Cleveland 7-3 in Game 6 on Oct. 19 to win the ALCS 4-2, with ALCS MVP Freddy Peralta allowing one run over 5 1/3 innings. The Rays open their first World Series since 2020 at Milwaukee on Oct. 23 at 8 PM ET.
Continue readingNo. 3 Miami beat Florida State 43-35 in double overtime on Oct. 17, sealed by Malachi Toney's 2-point pass and Bryce Fitzgerald's interception on 4th-and-31. From the independent years through Wide Right and into the ACC era, at least 35 of the 71 meetings have been decided by 8 points or fewer.
Continue readingMiami jumped from No. 3 to No. 1 in the AP Top 25 released Oct. 18, with 40 of 70 first-place votes, after a 43-35 double-overtime win over Florida State and a week in which 5 of the top 7 teams lost. The Canes lead No. 2 BYU by 22 points and host Pittsburgh on Oct. 24.
Continue readingFlorida State dragged Miami into exactly the night this desk promised on Saturday morning: uncomfortable, tied late, and decided by nerve. Miami 43, Florida State 35, two overtimes. The cleanest resume in America has a scar on it now, and the scar is the most valuable thing on it.
Read the full columnMiami is 2-1 in the preseason, and Giannis Antetokounmpo is back from last spring's knee injury and looks like himself. The trade and the Klay Thompson signing make the title case real, but the half-court spacing, an older roster and a banged-up bench mean it isn't settled.
Continue readingDrew Rasmussen held Cleveland to one run over seven innings in a 3-1 Game 5 win on Oct. 18, and the Rays lead the ALCS 3-2. Freddy Peralta, with 6 2/3 scoreless innings in the series, starts Game 6 at Tropicana Field on Oct. 19 at 8 PM ET on TBS with a World Series trip on the line.
Continue readingCam Little's 57-yard field goal as time expired beat the Eagles 19-17 in London for a third straight win and sole possession of first in the AFC South. Parker Washington's fourth-and-5 touchdown is the play that says this team is real.
Read the full columnSouth Carolina's LaNorris Sellers threw for 279 yards and accounted for 5 touchdowns, and the Gators fell out of the AP Top 25 after a 38-19 Homecoming loss. Next comes No. 7 Texas, then No. 1 Georgia.
Read the full columnJoe Burrow threw 4 touchdowns and Miami gave the ball away 3 times in a 31-24 loss to Cincinnati at Hard Rock Stadium. A late rally from 28-10 down changes nothing; the bye has to fix the Dolphins before the 2-3 Jets on Oct. 25.
Read the full columnNo. 4 Miami outrushed Clemson 192 to 55 in a 41-13 rout in Death Valley without a vintage night from Darian Mensah. The flag that erased a 58-yard touchdown is the lesson to carry into the bye and FSU week.
Continue readingNew England 4, Orlando City 2. Sixth became seventh in stoppage. Orlando is 10-12-4, 34 points, with eight league games left.
Read the full columnFlorida finished 27-8, 16-2 SEC. Still standing for a rematch season with nearly everybody back.
Read the full column26-9 and a Round of 32 receipt in Year 1. Year 2 in Coral Gables is prove-it without the All-ACC spine.
Read the full column18-15 bridge year is over. Year 2 under Loucks starts from zero on a blank canvas.
Read the full columnCleveland 23, Tampa Bay 19. Lightning delay, field goals, and missed tackles leave the Bucs 0-2.
Read the full columnAlabama 50, Florida State 36. FSU led 21-6 before the storm and twenty unanswered points flipped the ledger.
Read the full columnNFL Sunday is here and Florida's trio spreads across three time zones of trouble.
Read the full columnWhat happened and why it matters, every morning. Free. The email is the trailer, the desks are the film. The result is pure cinema!
17 desks in season. One forecast with no Doppler-powered excuses.
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These teams can win the whole damn thing. Keep milk nearby.
6-0 is a contender record. Now it has to mean something in the postseason.
The road games decide whether this is hype or a playoff run.
7-3-0 is a contender record. Now it has to mean something in October.
The banner room is full. The window is still open.
26-7 last season set the floor. This season still has to write its own line.
Last season set the bar. This group has to live over it.
0-2 is not a contender record. Rebuilds score hope, not points.
No easing into this one. The clock starts opening night.
15-5-10 is a contender record. Now it has to mean something in the postseason.
The board has Inter Miami CF at rank 6 at 15-5-10. Contender tracks the 74.6 score and the recent results. The seat was earned the boring way, one result at a time.
Messi can light the match. Somebody else has to mind the fire.
4-2 is a contender record. Now it has to mean something in the postseason.
The surprise is gone. Good teams win anyway.
Real bite. One bad ingredient could still ruin the batch.
98-64 is a contender record. Now it has to mean something in October.
The Trop is still the Trop. Winning there in October is the point.
5-4-2 buys attention, not belief. The back half has to cash it.
The Cats do not need a history lesson. They need their legs back.
0-2 is not a contender record. Rebuilds score hope, not points.
Orlando is no longer cute. The next step is becoming a problem in May.
25-8 last season set the floor. This season still has to write its own line.
The talent gets them invited. The rotation decides whether they stay.
5-2 is a contender record. Now it has to mean something in the postseason.
The roster says climb. The SEC says earn every inch.
There is a kick in there. We are not sweating yet.
80-82 is not a contender record. Rebuilds score hope, not runs.
When loanDepot gets loud in September, Miami has done something right.
18-15 last season was a floor raise, not a ceiling found. Now prove it was a start.
Florida State slid up a spot to 13 without playing a game, which tells you everything about the traffic behind them. The 18-15 baseline carries no top-25 wins, so the promotion is paperwork, not proof. "In the mix" is generous for a team still waiting on a single result that matters.
Potential is cheap. Reliable ACC minutes are not.
12-13-5 is not a contender record. Rebuilds score hope, not goals.
No spin. Score goals, stack points, move up.
Technically a sauce. Nobody is scared.
1-5 is not a contender record. Rebuilds score hope, not points.
Competence keeps the lights on. Wins bring the noise back.
3-4 is not a contender record. Rebuilds score hope, not points.
Florida State Football sits at rank 16 at 3-4, in the lower half. Call it Volatile rebuild if you need a label; the 45.7 score already voted. The next result writes the next line, not the last one.
Doak can get loud. First, give it something worth yelling about.
0-5 is not a contender record. Rebuilds score hope, not points.
Two games, two losses, and 13 points in each. The Las Vegas and San Francisco defeats came against opponents with no wins to their name, so there is no silver lining available; 13 points against winless-quality defenses is a verdict, not a wrinkle. Rank 17 holds steady, which mostly means nobody below earned the promotion. The Long shot tier is starting to look generous.
The only thing getting raised this year is the white flag.
One upcoming game from every desk.
Hard Rock Stadium
Sports Illustrated Stadium
Spectrum Center
Inter&Co Stadium
American Family Field
Delta Center
MetLife Stadium
Bank of America Stadium
United Center
Madison Square Garden
Mercedes-Benz Stadium
Doak Campbell Stadium
EverBank Stadium
Benchmark International Arena
Benchmark International Arena
Benchmark International Arena
Florida sports, the long way around
Seventeen teams. One desk. Cross-sport takes on the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, MLS and the three big college programs in the state. Got a tip, a correction, or a story the public is wrong about? Reach the desk.