Photo Courtesy of Heather Suarez/Miami Athletics

It’s been 13 years since a Heisman Trophy winner came from a Florida university. Jameis Winston was the last to achieve the feat back in 2013. Could this be the year? You could make the case for two different Miami Hurricanes a third of the way through the season. Darian Mensah leads the nation in QBR (quarterback rating) according to ESPN, is tied for the lead in touchdown passes, and is seventh in yards. If you judge the Heisman by ridiculous statistics, here is one for you. Through four games, Mensah has more touchdowns (14) than incompletions (12)! His Head Coach Mario Cristobal says it is all in the makeup of the Senior transfer from Duke.

“The inside is just as important as what you see on the outside. Darian was raised the right way. He’s made of the right stuff.“ Cristobal’s offense is averaging almost 590 yards a game, first in the nation. “The ball is being spit out, number one, it’s being spit out. Number two it’s going to the right guy.”

Often the right guy is candidate number two, wide receiver Malachi Toney. Toney is fourth in the nation in touchdown catches, and third in receiving yards. He’s a sophomore Coach Cristobal praised effusively. “I don’t foresee a time in his life where he’s not going to get better. That’s just his approach in a humble way. I mean it’s all about humility with him. He just works at it. There’s no magic. There’s no secret sauce. He’s just willing to do things that others won’t, so it shows up on game day.” Toney is an explosive play just waiting to happen. Miami travels to Clemson this week in one of their few ACC tests and are still a huge favorite.

RUN THE DAMN BAUGH

Another Heisman candidate resides in Gainesville, and what a weekend Jadan Baugh had running the football for the Florida Gators. “Run the damn Baugh” has become a popular t-shirt, and a rallying phrase for the surging Gators. It’s a play on the age old call of fans to run the damn ball. Baugh ran for 142 yards and three touchdowns against previously unbeaten Ole Miss, and new Coach John Sumrall has his Gators at 4-0. “Excited about the direction we are headed. We have not arrived” Sumrall told the media after the game. On the season, Baugh is second in the nation in rushing and first with 11 touchdowns. While Miami has so many ways to beat teams on offense and defense, Florida’s resurgence starts with Baugh. Right now, Baugh shows up as number seven on the Heisman odds at Fan Duel, but do not be surprised if he moves higher.

For this week’s rankings, at least Georgia has played someone now (Oklahoma) and looks the part. Indiana struggled with Big 12 bottom feeder Northwestern, so I am keeping them lower until they prove more. Same with Ohio State. I think they will be a top team by the end of the year, but for now their wins are not very good. The book is still out on Oregon. They lost to Oklahoma State and struggled with Boise, but did get a huge win this week at Southern Cal.

TOP 25 FOR THE WEEK BEGINNING SEPTEMBER 28

TEXAS (4-0) Struggled at times, but winning at Tennessee is huge
FLORIDA (4-0) Two weeks of huge tests, and two A+ grades
MISSISSIPPI STATE (4-0) Won at Minnesota and South Carolina, now home over Missouri
NOTRE DAME (4-0) Wisconsin win looks better this week after the Badgers beat Penn State
GEORGIA (4-0) Finally played someone good, and it wasn’t close. 41-13 over Oklahoma
IOWA (4-0) Last second win over Michigan. Have also beaten Iowa State
MIAMI (4-0) Win at Wake Forest looks better after the Deacs went to Louisville and won. Still, Miami will struggle with quality wins playing in the ACC
ALABAMA (4-0) Don’t think they’ll be top 10 at the end of the year, but beating South Carolina, FSU, and Kentucky is better than most teams so far
TEXAS TECH (4-0) On the strength of win over Houston, but I think QB play will cost them at some point
UCLA (4-0) So dominant at Maryland, the Terps now want to fire their coach
UTAH (4-0) Went to Iowa State and looked sharp
DUKE (4-0) Illinois win looks worse this week, Stanford win is pretty meh
BYU (3-0) Arizona is still their best win
CINCINNATI (4-0) Now with wins over Boston College and Kansas State
INDIANA (4-0) Wins are subpar
VIRGINIA TECH (4-0) Struggled at Boston College in a Nor’easter
OLE MISS (3-1) Defense run over by Florida
LSU (3-1) Routed Clemson and Texas A&M but lost to Ole Miss
PITTSBURGH (4-0) Just don’t have a win on the level of the two above them. Best are UCF and Syracuse
NEBRASKA (4-0) Matt Rhule off to a good start, but wins are not over good teams
MICHIGAN (3-1) A win over Oklahoma, and beaten on the last play by Iowa
OHIO STATE (3-1) Barely lost to Texas, but wins are bad. Expect them to move up in the coming weeks when the schedule gets tougher
OREGON (3-1) A win over USC, but got waxed at Oklahoma State
U MASS (4-0) What a renaissance for a previously moribund program
N DAKOTA ST (4-0) Former FCS powerhouse fitting right in atop the Mountain West

Don’t Just Read It. Live It.

Get the latest stories, rankings, and culture from Pulp City delivered straight to your inbox.

Author

Mike Synan

After two decades in news and politics, Mike Synan is returning to his roots to write Sports as “The Sportsaholic”. Mike hosted a talk show for 6 years on WDBO after Magic home games called “Magic Til Midnight”, and spent years working as an in-game correspondent for both ESPN and Fox Sports Radio. His column “Synan Says” has appeared on both www.wdbo.com and www.floridadaily.com. He has a BS in Political Science from Clemson University. You can reach him at msynan@sportsmail.com

College Football Power Flex Rankings: Updated Top 25 (Week 1, 2025)

College football in the state of Florida is back! Since Florida State won the title in 2014, college football in the state of Florida has been a pretty sad state of affairs. After week one of the 2025 season, Sunshine State teams are flexing their muscles, led by a resurgence in Tallahassee and Miami.

Florida State put an absolute whuppin (OK, I admit that’s not a real word) on pre-season top 10 Alabama. That FSU won was not the headline, it was the way they won. The Seminoles completely dominated an Alabama team of 5 star recruits on both the offensive and defensive lines, punishing them repeatedly with bone crushing blocks and tackles. Clearly, bringing in Gus Malzahn to be the Offensive Coordinator has worked. The Seminoles rushed for 230 yards and held the Crimson Tide to just 87 yards on the ground. That’s a manhandling on both sides of the ball. If you are an FSU fan, you have to feel like the team is back, and that the 4 new starters on the offensive line are a complete success, as is new quarterback Thomas Castellano. The Seminoles were one of the most impressive teams I saw over the weekend, and the rankings will reflect that.

Miami also wants to be back. Perennially they are proclaimed as back and end up falling on their face. What makes me feel like this year could be different is what I saw in the trenches with the Hurricanes. The team has NFL level talent on their offensive and defensive lines and it showed in a 28-24 win over Notre Dame. Carson Beck was efficient at quarterback after transferring in from the University of Georgia, and new receiver CJ Daniels made what may end up being the touchdown catch of the year with a one-handed grab.

I would be remiss in talking about the state of affairs with football in Florida without mentioning the resounding victory USF had over ranked Boise State to kick off the season in front of a national TV audience. The 34-7 rout was a sure sign that Coach Alex Golesh is moving the team in the right direction.

SYNAN SAYS TOP 25 FOR THE WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 2ND

LSU (1-0) – I saw nothing more impressive than winning at Clemson by shutting them out in the 2nd half
FLORIDA STATE (1-0) – Physically whipped Alabama
OHIO STATE (1-0) – Offense has a long way to go, defense is top notch
MIAMI (1-0) – So far, so good Carson Beck
TCU (1-0) – man did they shellack Bill Belicheck’s UNC team
AUBURN (1-0) – impressive road win at Baylor
SOUTH CAROLINA (1-0) – team needs a lot of work, but handling VT on a neutral field is impressive
USC (1-0) – they scored a whopping 73 points vs. new FBS school Missouri State
OLE MISS (1-0) – Ga. State is not great, but the Rebs did hang 63 on them
USF (1-0) – Bludgeoning Boise gives them this spot
IOWA STATE (2-0) – win over Kansas St. less impressive this week
TENNESSEE (1-0) – new QB Joey Aguilar stepped right in against Syracuse
GEORGIA (1-0) – Look like they want to run the ball like Georgia normally does
UTAH (1-0) – hard to tell how good win at UCLA is
CALIFORNIA (1-0) – went to Corvallis and waxed Oregon State
VIRGINIA (1-0) – beat perennial bowl team Coastal Carolina 48-7
PENN STATE (1-0) – let Nevada score late, but they’re still a top team
GEORGIA TECH (1-0) – QB Haynes King is for real. Questions about the rest of the team
NEBRASKA (1-0) – winning at Cincinnati gets them ranked for now
TEXAS (0-1) – lost at #3 by one score, they’re still good
ARIZONA (1-0) – whipped Hawaii that has already beaten Stanford
CLEMSON (0-1) – made it inside the 20 to tie the game in the 4th, but not enough running against LSU
NOTRE DAME (0-1) – gave Miami everything they had
KANSAS (2-0) – convincing wins over mediocre teams
WASHINGTON (1-0) – will be gone as soon as teams like Florida and Oregon play someone, anyone!

Mike Synan

After two decades in news and politics, Mike Synan is returning to his roots to write Sports as “The Sportsaholic”. Mike hosted a talk show for 6 years on WDBO after Magic home games called “Magic Til Midnight”, and spent years working as an in-game correspondent for both ESPN and Fox Sports Radio. His column “Synan Says” has appeared on both www.wdbo.com and www.floridadaily.com. He has a BS in Political Science from Clemson University. You can reach him at msynan@sportsmail.com

View All Articles by this Contributor

Miami Hurricanes Have Two...

Rare Scenes of Wild...

Bill Belichick’s UNC Tenure...

Angie Nixon Fundraiser Brings...

Mike Norvell Under Pressure...

Deadly Secrets: A Murder...

RUN THE DAMN BAUGH

TOP 25 FOR THE WEEK BEGINNING SEPTEMBER 28

Don’t Just Read It. Live It.

Get the latest stories, rankings, and culture from Pulp City delivered straight to your inbox.

Author

College Football Power Flex Rankings: Updated Top 25 (Week 1, 2025)

SYNAN SAYS TOP 25 FOR THE WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 2ND

Mike Synan

Don’t Just Read It. Live It.

Get the latest stories, rankings, and culture from Pulp City delivered straight to your inbox.

Miami Hurricanes Have Two.

Rare Scenes of Wild.

Bill Belichick’s UNC Tenure.