COLLEGE FOOTBALL Sunshine State's top teams shut out of national race for first time since 1990

Florida State, Miami and Florida are on the outside of the BCS picture.
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) -- The three major programs in Florida are winding down the season with plenty to play for: conference titles, 10-win seasons, a big victory over a major rival and, of course, lots and lots of pride.
What's missing from that list is a national championship.
This week, Florida State, Miami and Florida posted numbers that looked more like blackjack hands than decent BCS rankings -- 11, 12, 13.
For the first time since 1990, not a single Sunshine State team heads into late November with even an outside chance at playing for it all.
"It seems a little crazy not to think, 'OK, well, Miami, Florida State or Florida will be playing for a national championship,' " Gators defensive back Keiwan Ratliff said.
With a team-record nine interceptions for the Gators (8-3), Ratliff, who is a Youngstown native and still has family in the area, is a strong All-American candidate this year.
Michael Boulware and the recently injured Craphonso Thorpe of Florida State (9-2) are part of a talented roster that was headed back toward the top earlier this season.
Miami (8-2) has defensive lineman Vince Wilfork and defensive back Sean Taylor, both of whom are among the very best at their positions.
So, these three programs obviously still know how to find good players.
Turmoil
But a combination of coaching, turmoil, injuries and plain ol' bad luck has placed the teams outside the title hunt. They're looking up at Oklahoma, USC and Ohio State ... and Georgia, Tennessee and Texas to name a few more.
"It just doesn't feel right, does it?" said Art Kehoe, the longtime Miami offensive line coach.
All three teams have had their own troubles over the past decade.
Miami was dealing with probation from 1995-99 and wasn't a factor in any national race.
Florida State is going through its third straight year out of the title chase.
Florida has always made the Southeastern Conference championship a priority, and in many years, the rigors of the SEC have bumped the Gators from the top five.
But not since 1990 have the stars aligned to produce this -- a Thanksgiving weekend with no chance of a national title going to a team in Florida.
Back in '90, the Gators were on probation, the Seminoles lost two in a row in October and the Hurricanes had lost twice by mid-October and couldn't get back into the tight race between Colorado and Georgia Tech.
Since then, Florida has won the national title once (1996), Miami has won it twice (1991, 2001) and Florida State twice (1993, '99). Even in years that didn't end with an orange-tinged title, at least one of the teams played for it, or had a chance to with the season winding down.