Joel Klatt: Miami brings more tradition to table than Florida

Conventional wisdom is that power in the state of Florida often resides at just one of the three major in-state programs due to the cyclical nature of the sport, and right now it’s Miami‘s turn to be on the upswing.

The Hurricanes are ranked No. 8 nationally and have gotten out to a thoroughly convincing 3-0 start to the season.

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“In the state of Florida football, this is Miami’s opportunity,” FOX Sports analyst Joel Klatt said. “When your rivals are down you’ve got to take advantage. And they’re down. Florida and Florida State are down, and when I say down, I mean down.

“So guess what, Miami? This is your shot.”

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Head coach Mario Cristobal has done a nice job building his team’s roster through a combination of both traditional recruiting and the transfer portal, striking a balance that is working wonders for Miami right now.

The other factor the ‘Canes have working in their favor? After showing recruits they’re clearly on the upswing, the program’s tradition has been highlighted vs. its peers in Florida and Florida State.

“I think that you’re one of the best teams in the country. I put them in the top five in the country,” Klatt said. “I think Cam Ward could be in New York for the Heisman Trophy. I think they could win the ACC and get a top-four seed in the College Football Playoffs. You win one playoff game at Miami and the ‘U’ is all the sudden back and guess what? All of those kids in Florida are going to want to go down to South Florida and play at Miami because they’ve got more tradition. Maybe not than Florida State, but certainly than Florida.”

Florida hasn’t won a championship of any sort since 2008. Florida State has had much more recent pockets of success, including a 2013 national title and a 13-0 regular season just one year ago.

Still, the Seminoles are 0-3 and the Gators are 1-2 so far this year.

“So this is Miami’s opportunity right now. If you’re Mario Cristobal, man, this is like strike while the iron is hot,” Klatt said. “And that’s the risk for both Florida and Florida State. These are not easy fixes. I think it’s probably an easier fix at Florida State, but for Florida… I don’t know, man. I don’t know.

“Urban Meyer ain’t walking through that door. Trust me. It’s a good life out there for him right there. He’s playing golf, he’s working with us. He ain’t walking through that door and I don’t know who is. I don’t know who is that’s going to all the sudden save you.”