Recruiting wars: Florida may have lost more than just a game to Miami

Last Saturday in Gainesville, Florida, the Miami Hurricanes put an end to the Florida Gators' 33-year home opener win streak in what could best be described as a blowout and one of the biggest wins of the opening weekend of college football.

Going into this game, both teams had a lot on the line. Florida's schedule is arguably the hardest in all of college football and they needed to show out against Miami to prove they're still up for the challenge after back-to-back losing seasons.

Now Miami was favored to win this game at No.19 vs. Florida's unranked squad, but not by much. That 41-17 final was an unprecedented beating that not only constituted a historic win for the 'Canes in the Swamp but may have cost the Gators even more than this devastating loss.

Florida has struggled to recruit since Head Coach Billy Napier took over in 2022. Since his tenure began, slews of players have entered the transfer portal, with star running back Trevor Etienne making the bold switch to Georgia this past January.

Miami, on the other hand, made some major transfer portal moves in the offseason this year. They picked up quarterback Cam Ward from Washington State, who was one of the best QBs up for grabs, along with several key offensive linemen.

Cam Ward truly showed up and showed out against the Gators. Though the season just started, Miami looks to be the strongest contender in the ACC.

Now, this blowout against Florida is sure to boost Miami's recruiting even more, with the Hurricanes even encouraging attending recruits to come to Miami. What's worse is, I don't think anyone would blame them at this point!

The Gators still have a whole season ahead of them, but if they want to succeed in the long run, they'll need to do more than just win.

After back-to-back losing seasons, they need to figure out how to keep what good recruits they have now -- or they'll be "rebuilding" for another five years.