Florida
Our way-too-early Florida college football rankings for 2025
We know, we know. College football’s national title game ended only a few hours ago. The celebration in Columbus, Ohio, is just now cranking up. Heck, Kirk Herbstreit’s pooch is still prancing somewhere in Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
So why are we already making projections for the 2025 season? Because it’s a tradition like no other. Way-too-early forecasts have become embedded in the sport’s fabric, much like portal season, the Pop-Tarts Bowl and profanities by Nick Saban on live TV.
Who cares if they should be taken with a grain of salt? Our guess is, they’ll still make more than a few fans feel salty. All part of the fun.
Here then, is our way-too-early 2025 ranking of Florida’s seven Football Bowl Subdivision teams.
7. Florida International
2024 record: 4-8
3 key returners: DB Brian Blades II (six pass breakups), QB Keyone Jenkins (2,557 passing yards, 22 TDs), RB Kejon Owens (team-best 392 rushing yards, five TDs)
3 key departures: LB Travion Barnes (Baylor), S JoJo Evans (Louisville), WR Eric Rivers (Georgia Tech)
Impact newcomer: RB Ajay Allen (Miami)
Outlook: New Panthers coach Willie Simmons did arguably his best recruiting job of the winter by convincing both Jenkins and Owens to withdraw their names from the portal and remain at FIU. On the flip side, Simmons lost a procession of talented defensive players to the portal and must do some significant replenishing. Simmons, a Tallahassee native who posted four consecutive seasons of at least nine wins at Florida A&M, has the coaching and recruiting chops to succeed down south, but this will take time.
6. Florida Atlantic
2024 record: 3-9
3 key returners: DB Wendel Philord (42 tackles, four pass breakups), WR Jabari Smith (17 receptions), DB Jayden Williams (two interceptions)
3 key departures: RB C.J. Campbell (Rutgers), QB Cam Fancher (UCF), S CJ Heard (Vanderbilt)
Impact newcomer: QB Caden Veltkamp (Western Kentucky)
Outlook: New Owls coach Zach Kittley practically had to pilfer the transfer portal to replenish FAU’s decimated roster, but he pulled off a bonanza by signing Veltkamp, a 3,000-yard passer at Western Kentucky last season. As a bonus, he also landed one of Veltkamp’s top targets last year, Hilltoppers slot receiver Easton Messer (55 catches, 793 yards). Widely regarded as one of college football’s brightest young offensive minds, Kittley, 33, has the energy and ingenuity to turn around FAU. But his overhauled roster will need time to jell.
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5. UCF
2024 record: 4-8
3 key returners: Edge Nyjalik Kelly (team-high 5.5 sacks), RT Paul Rubelt (lone returning OL starter) DT John Walker (injured in 2024)
3 key departures: LB Xe’Ree Alexander (Washington), DL Lee Hunter (Texas Tech), RG Marcellus Marshall (Minnesota)
Impact newcomer: QB Tayven Jackson (Indiana)
Outlook: Count us among those who remain convinced Scott Frost didn’t forget how to coach. Also count us among those who believe he never really was crazy about leaving UCF for his alma mater (Nebraska), where he went 16-31 in four-plus seasons. Frost has some significant rebuilding ahead of him in his second stint in Orlando, and he has been forced to tap heavily into the transfer portal (more than two-dozen transfers) since his return in early December. But don’t be shocked if the Knights make some rumblings in the Big 12 in 2025. And if his second season (2026) remotely resembles the Year 2 of his initial go-round at UCF (see Colley Matrix), watch out.
4. USF
2024 record: 7-6 (topped San Jose State, 41-39, in Hawaii Bowl)
3 key returners: QB Byrum Brown (12 school records), WR Keshaun Singleton (428 receiving yards, three TDs), S Tavin Ward (team-high three interceptions)
3 key departures: S Tawfiq Byard (Colorado), RB Kelley Joiner (NFL draft), LB Jamie Pettway (NFL draft)
Impact newcomer: RB Cartevious Norton (Charlotte)
Outlook: Presuming Brown is healthy and still here, the Bulls should eclipse the seven-win plateau in Year 3 of the Alex Golesh era. The backfield must be replenished, but there’s proven talent on the perimeter and up front. The big question involves the defense and whether USF can develop more consistency on that side. After two .500 regular seasons, Bulls fans want to see Golesh’s “process” produce titles, or at least title-game berths.
3. FSU
2024 record: 2-10
3 key returners: S Shyheim Brown (team-high 70 tackles), DT Darrell Jackson (32 tackles, 3.5 sacks), S KJ Kirkland (46 tackles, two pass breakups)
3 key departures: QB Luke Kromenhoek (Mississippi State), edge Patrick Payton (LSU), RB Lawrance Toafili (NFL draft)
Impact newcomer: QB Thomas Castellanos (Boston College)
Outlook: As promised, coach Mike Norvell has orchestrated a brisk overhaul in the wake of a disastrous autumn, bringing in two new coordinators (Gus Malzahn, Tony White) and an infusion of veterans from the transfer portal. The returners and replenishments on defense, along with White’s 3-3-5 scheme, should foster optimism, but the big question is whether the Seminoles will regain an offensive pulse. Castellanos, a 5-foot-9 dual threat, played briefly for Malzahn at UCF and possesses the skill set that meshes with Malzahn’s no-huddle scheme.
2. Miami
2024 record: 10-3 (lost to Iowa State, 42-41, in Pop-Tarts Bowl)
3 key returners: DT Rueben Bain (3.5 sacks), RB Mark Fletcher (545 rushing yards, eight TDs), LB Francisco Mauigoa (team-high 88 tackles)
3 key departures: DL Simeone Barrow (NFL draft), WR Xavier Restrepo (NFL draft), QB Cam Ward (NFL draft)
Impact newcomer: QB Carson Beck (Georgia)
Outlook: The Hurricanes got a coup of sorts by luring Beck — 24-3 as a starter at Georgia — from the portal. Beck, who likely will miss spring practice while recovering from elbow surgery, doesn’t have Ward’s hair-trigger release, but he possesses far more big-game experience than Ward had upon his arrival to Coral Gables. He’ll also be complemented by what projects as a solid offensive line and sturdy run game (see Fletcher, Jordan Lyle). The prevailing question is how the beleaguered defense will progress under new coordinator Corey Hetherman.
1. Florida
2024 record: 8-5 (topped Tulane, 33-8, in Gasparilla Bowl)
3 key returners: QB DJ Lagway (6-1 as starter), edge Tyreak Sapp (team-high seven sacks), C Jake Slaughter (first-team All-American)
3 key departures: WR Chimere Deke (NFL draft), LB Shemar James (NFL draft), edge Jack Pyburn (LSU)
Impact newcomer: WR Dallas Wilson (Tampa Bay Tech)
Outlook: Few SEC teams ended 2024 with more momentum than the Gators, whose season-ending four-game win streak included home upsets of ranked foes LSU and Ole Miss. Moreover, coach Billy Napier replenished his roster with a top-11 prep signing class in December. This is Lagway’s team now, and he’ll be flanked by talent both proven (Slaughter) and promising (Wilson). The most formidable challenge: a schedule every bit as ruthless as last year’s.
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Florida
Gas prices rise in South Florida amid U.S. and Israel’s conflict with Iran, as the stock market also reports a dip
Four days into the Iranian conflict, gas prices are rising at many stations in South Florida.
“I’ve traveled all over the United States,” says Stacey Williams. CBS Miami spoke to him as he was gassing up on the turnpike. He paid $66 for 20 gallons of diesel to fill his pickup truck. Williams has noted the fluctuations in fuel as he drives to locations for his work on turbines. He just spent three weeks at the Turkey Point Nuclear Power Plant south of Miami.
“The salary we get paid per hour does not add up to what we pay for gas, housing, and food,” he says.
Mitchell Gershon is also dealing with the higher gas prices. He has to fill three vehicles constantly for his business—Thrifty Gypsy, a pop-up store at musical venues. He’s back and forth from Orlando to Miami and says fuel is costing him 20% more. When asked how he handles these fluctuations, he said, “Have a little backup cash so you are ready for it.”
The rise in oil prices contributed to a drop in the stock market on Tuesday, which means some retirement accounts dipped, too. CBS Miami talked to Chad NeSmith, director of investments at Tobias Financial Advisors in Plantation, for perspective on the drop.
“We are seeing most of the pullback today. Yesterday was a shock,” he says. He’s not expecting runaway oil prices but says investors should stay in the loop: “Pay attention to your portfolio. Stick to your goals. Have a plan because these things are completely unpredictable.”
That unpredictability has Williams adjusting his budget. “You just cut back, cut corners, all you can do,” he says.
STARKE, Fla. (AP) — A man convicted of fatally shooting a police officer with his own service weapon during a traffic stop is set to be executed Tuesday evening in Florida.
Billy Leon Kearse, 53, is scheduled to receive a three-drug injection starting at 6 p.m. at Florida State Prison near Starke. Kearse was initially sentenced to death in 1991 after being convicted of first-degree murder and robbery with a firearm.
The Florida Supreme Court found that the trial court failed to give jurors certain information about aggravating circumstances and ordered a new sentencing. Kearse was resentenced to death in 1997.
Kearse awoke at 6:30 a.m. He declined a last meal and has remained compliant throughout the day, corrections spokesman Jordan Kirkland said during a news conference. Kearse met with a spiritual adviser during the day but had no other visitors.
This is Florida’s third execution scheduled for 2026, following a record 19 executions last year. Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis oversaw more executions in a single year in 2025 than any other Florida governor since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. The highest number before then was eight executions in both 1984 and 2014, under former governors Bob Graham and Rick Scott, respectively.
According to court records, Fort Pierce Police Officer Danny Parrish pulled over Kearse for driving the wrong way on a one-way street in January 1991. When Kearse couldn’t produce a valid driver’s license, Parrish ordered Kearse out of his vehicle and attempted to handcuff him.
A struggle ensued, and Kearse grabbed Parrish’s firearm, prosecutors said. Kearse fired 14 times, striking the officer nine times in the body and four times in his body armor. A nearby taxi driver heard the shots and used Parrish’s radio to call for help.
Parrish was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he died from the gunshot wounds, officials said. Meanwhile, police used license plate information that Parrish had called in before approaching Kearse to identify the attacker’s vehicle and home address, where Kearse was arrested.
Last week, the Florida Supreme Court denied appeals filed by Kearse. His attorneys had argued that he was unconstitutionally deprived of a fair penalty phase and that his intellectual disability makes his execution unconstitutional.
The U.S. Supreme Court rejected Kearse’s final appeals Tuesday afternoon without comment.
A total of 47 people were executed in the U.S. in 2025. Florida led the way with a flurry of death warrants signed by DeSantis, far outpacing Alabama, South Carolina and Texas which each held five executions.
Besides the two Florida executions this year, Texas and Oklahoma have each executed one person so far.
Two more Florida executions have already been scheduled for this month. Michael Lee King, 54, is scheduled to die on March 17, and the execution of James Aren Duckett, 68, is set for March 31.
All Florida executions are carried out via lethal injection using a sedative, a paralytic and a drug that stops the heart, according to the Department of Corrections.
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