Which Florida School is most likely to return to prominence?

Florida State football went 2-0 against interstate rivals Miami and Florida. Are the Noles the best positioned of the Florida football schools for a return to prominence? 

Any college football fan that began watching in the late 1980s to the early 90s remembers that the Florida schools dominated the college football scene. Florida, Florida State, and Miami dominated the college football landscape for nearly 25 years. Though rarely dominant at the same time, these three schools competed against one another on the field and off the field for recruits.

Bobby Bowden took the Florida State football job in 1976, and a decade later, the Seminoles began one of the great runs in all of sports. The Seminoles would win at least ten games and finish in the top five for fourteen consecutive years. Howard Schnellenberger took over the Hurricanes in 1979 and won a National Championship five seasons later.

The Gators were last to the party, with alum and Heisman Trophy winner Steve Spurrier taking the helm of the Gators in 1990, winning a National Championship in 1996.

Each school has had some success after the departure of their legendary coaches, Florida State football with Jimbo Fisher, Florida with Urban Meyer, and Miami with Butch Davis. However, there has been no sustained success. Each school has hired new coaches and invested in its respective football programs.

Mike Norvell seems to be entrenched at Florida State. Miami spent a ton of money to hire Mario Cristobal away from Oregon to Miami, and Florida football went with the young, upstart Group of Five coach Billy Napier from Louisiana. So, which of the “Florida Three” can return to national prominence?

Can all three share the national stage in the looming expanded playoff? Here is a closer look and three thoughts on the state of college football in Florida.