Miami dominates early Sunshine State power rankings

The Miami Hurricanes are clearly the best team in Florida entering Week 3 of the college football season. Using the ESPN Football Power Index as a guide, Miami is the highest-ranked team in the Sunshine State entering the second full weekend of college football.

After a dominant 45-6 win at Stanford and a 77-7 victory over Florida A&M, Miami is fifth in the FPI, AFCA Coaches Poll and the Associated Press Top 25. Miami is projected to have a 66.1 percent chance to win the ACC and a 79.3 percent projection of earning a College Football Playoff berth. 

Florida is second among Sunshine State teams and 15th nationally in the FPI entering Week 3 of the college football season. Florida beat Florida Atlantic 66-21 and Campbell 52-3 in Week 2. The Gators have an 83.7 percent chance of winning six games and qualifying for a bowl game, according to the FPI.

Florida has an 18.4 percent chance of earning a College Football Playoff berth, the 133rd-toughest strength of schedule and the fifth-most difficult remaining SOS, per the FPI. Auburn hosts Florida on Saturday in the Gators' first difficult test in 2026.

Florida State's chances for a bowl berth

Florida State is third in the Sunshine State power rankings and 37th in the FPI. The Seminoles are 50th in SOS and 18th in remaining SOS. Florida State beat New Mexico State 34-17 in its season opener and lost 27-24 to SMU on Labor Day night. Alabama hosts FSU on Saturday. FSU is projected with a 52.1 percent chance to earn six wins in 2026. 

The FPI projects UCF to have 6.2 wins and 5.9 losses, with a 63.1 percent chance to earn a bowl berth. UCF has started the season with a 73-6 win over Bethune-Cookman and a 12-7 loss at Pittsburgh. Georgia State is at UCF on Saturday. 

After a 19-9 win over FIU and a 28-24 victory at Army, the FPI projects South Florida to win 9.5 games and to have 2.8 losses. The FPI projects South Florida with a 99.1 percent chance to win six games, a 20.1 percent chance to win the American and a 10.7 percent probability of earning a CFP berth. 

FIU started the season with a loss at South Florida and beat Buffalo 33-20 on Saturday. The FPI projects FIU with 6.7 wins and 5.5 losses in 2026. The Panthers have a 72.8 percent chance of earning six wins and a 10.8 percent chance of winning Conference USA. 

After the loss at Florida, FAU beat Navy 38-20 last week. The FPI projects FAU with 5.6 wins, 6.6 losses and a 47.3 percent chance of earning six wins. FAU hosts FIU in the Shula Bowl on Saturday.