3-point stance: Offenses have advantage

1. Football may be cyclical, as coaches maintained all these years. Surely, defenses will catch up to the way that offenses have spread the field. But this is one long cycle. If anything, offenses this season have a bigger advantage than ever. No one could have watched the second half of the South Carolina-Georgia game (60 points scored) or the last 72 seconds of the Notre Dame-Michigan game (21 points scored) and think that things will cycle back to how they used to be anytime soon.

2. For years, experts (ahem) have predicted that someday, the statewide hegemony of Florida, Florida State and Miami would end. Someday may have arrived last year when UCF went 11-3. Or maybe this year, when five Florida teams are 2-0. The Knights spanked Boston College 30-3 on Saturday, FIU beat Louisville 24-17 on Friday and No. 20 USF defeated Notre Dame, 23-20. Not to mention No. 5 Florida State and No. 16 Florida. Miami, at 0-1, can rejoin the party Saturday by upsetting No. 17 Ohio State.

3. South Alabama makes its big-boy debut Saturday at North Carolina State. The FCS Jaguars have gone undefeated in 19 games against an array of two- and four-year schools below the FBS since 2009 (biggest win: fellow future Sun Belt member Georgia State). Jags head coach Joey Jones, a Mobile native, former Alabama wide receiver and successful high school coach, has generated interest. South’s average crowd of 19,647 in two home games this season would have finished second in the Sun Belt last year.

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