Florida State head coach Mike Norvell will lead the Seminoles to just the third 13-win season in history in 2023, joining the 2013 national championship team and the College Football Playoff semifinalist squad in 2014. The Noles also won their first ACC championship in just under a decade and are poised to make a playoff berth this season while battling Clemson for first place in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
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FSU finished tied with Oregon (12-2) for No. 6 in last year's final Associated Press rankings and has been listed as a top-10 team by some media outlets, but Fox Sports' Michael Cohen thinks the Seminoles could have a hard time staying at the top of the food chain this season.
It's important to consider just how many players head coach Mike Norvell and his staff have lost from a stellar 2023 season. Starting quarterback Jordan Travis is gone. Starting running back Trey Benson is gone. Gone are the three leading receivers in Keion Coleman, Johnny Wilson and Jaheim Bell. Gone are All-American edge rusher Jared Barth and his running mate, defensive lineman Braden Fisk. Gone are secondary stars Leonardo Green and Jarrian Jones.
All of these players were selected in this year's NFL Draft.
– Michael Cohen, Fox Sports
Florida State has 10 players selected in the 2024 NFL Draft, but landed the No. 11 overall class and a No. 7 transfer class that includes Oregon State transfer DJ Uiagalelei, who is expected to lead the quarterback corps. Cohen and Fox Sports analyst RJ Young analyzed the 2024 season in a recent article, with Cohen believing Florida State's schedule, which has fluctuated between being one of the toughest in the country and being ranked in the top 20 or top 35 depending on the source, could hinder the Seminoles.
Still, Norvell has enough talent and enough transfers (five from Alabama alone) on the Seminoles that the ACC should come down to a Florida State-Clemson battle, and quarterback play will likely be the deciding factor. But the schedule gods are stacking the deck against Florida State, with a second half of the season that sees them face Miami (away), North Carolina, Notre Dame (away) and Florida in a five-week span. That could be a tough one for the Seminoles.
– Michael Cohen, Fox Sports
The Noles will play the Gators at home to close the season. Florida State is expected to have the toughest schedule next season, but the uphill battles Cohen mentioned are no joke and the health of the team will be a big factor. Florida State was left out of the College Football Playoff last year, mainly due to a devastating injury to quarterback Jordan Travis.
Mid-major Miami, with the addition of transfer quarterback Cam Ward, is expected to have a better season than their 7-6 record in 2023. Additionally, Notre Dame and Clemson have posed big challenges for Norvell and his teams in the past, so only time will tell where Florida State lands once the dust settles.
FSU will open the year on Aug. 24 in Dublin, Ireland against Georgia Tech, a game that will likely determine the direction of the ACC and the entire college football world.
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