College Football Countdown: No. 9 Florida State Seminoles

· Aug 15 - 6 minutes read

FSU Expected to Challenge Clemson for ACC Supremacy

There are some who make college football predictions who believe that Florida State has the talent to unseat Clemson as the team to beat in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Florida State doubled its win total, going from five wins in 2021 to winning 10 games a season ago. It was the first double-digit win season since 2016 for the Seminoles.

Jim Fuller's Top 25 Teams To Watch: No. 9 Florida State Seminoles — Jordan travis #13 of the florida state seminoles | james gilbert/getty images/afp

Quarterback Jordan Travis and edge rusher Jared Verse give Florida State elite players on both sides of the ball.

The Seminoles’ incoming freshman class was rated fifth by the 247sports.com database, with receiver KJ Bolden, tight end Landen Thomas, quarterback Luke Kromenhoek and cornerback Charles Lester all top-50 recruits.

Florida State had a top-10 rated class of incoming transfers for the second year in a row with the additions of edge rusher Gilbert Edmond and tight Jaheim Bell, who both come in from South Carolina. UTEP offensive tackle Jeremiah Byers, Michigan State receiver Keon Coleman, Virginia cornerback Fentrell Cypress, Western Michigan defensive lineman Braden Fiske, Miami defensive lineman Darrell Jackson, Auburn offensive lineman Keiondre Jones, Colorado offensive lineman Casey Roddick and Shorter College tight end Kyle Morlock lead the list of incoming transfers.

Safeties Travis Jay and Brendan Gant, defensive lineman Bishop Thomas, edge rusher Derrick McLendon and cornerback Omarion Cooper all landed at Colorado. Receiver Mycah Pittman transferred to Utah while cornerback Sam McCall (Texas A&M), edge rusher George Wilson (Campbell), receiver Malik McClain (Penn State), running back Treshaun Ward (Kansas State), edge rusher Shambre Jackson (UMass) and offensive lineman Rod Orr (Toledo) all headed elsewhere.

According to college football odds, Florida State (+2000) is eighth in the odds to win the national title. The Seminoles are ranked eighth in both the Associated Press and coaches’ polls. Florida State received 67 first-place votes and finished second to Clemson in the preseason ACC poll.

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Florida State Seminoles

2022 record: 10-3
2022 ACC record: 5-3
Head coach: Mike Norvell
Odds to win conference title: +160

Florida State is left wondering what might have been after losing the first three games in October by a combined total of 16 points. Those were the only blemishes on the 2022 schedule for the Seminoles.

The offense finished in the top 20 in both yards and points per game a season ago, and with Travis leading the list of returnees, the offense might be even better in 2023.

Travis threw for 3,214 yards with 24 touchdowns and five interceptions in his third season as the starting quarterback. Travis also rushed for seven touchdowns. He finished second to North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye in the preseason balloting for the ACC Player of the Year.

Travis and the Seminoles finished with just 66 points during the three-game losing streak and avoiding such pitfalls will be a point of emphasis in 2023.

Running back Trey Benson and receiver Johnny Wilson flirted with 1,000-yard seasons in 2022 and they are both back.

Second-leading rusher Ward transferred to Kansas State. No. 2 receiver Ontaria Wilson headed off to the NFL and Mycah Pittman is now at Utah. Adding receiver Keon Coleman, who led Michigan State with 55 catches and 798 yards, is huge and getting tight end Bell from South Carolina is another significant addition.

The offensive line added three transfers so perhaps they can help fill the void from the loss of a pair of starters.

Verse is listed by the Las Vegas odds with the sixth-best odds to be the No. 1 overall pick. He could very well have gone in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft after leading Florida State with 17 tackles for loss and nine sacks in 2022. Patrick Payton (five sacks) and 320-pound tackle Fabien Lovett also return up front

Transfers Edmond, Jackson and Fiske combined for 11 sacks a season ago and could contribute immediately.

Leading tackle Jammie Robinson is back to lead the secondary and the addition of former Virginia cornerback Cypress strengthens a deep and experienced secondary. Linebacker Tatum Bethune (84 tackles) and Kalen DeLoach (65 tackles) also return.

Those who bet online might want to keep in mind that Florida State won its last six games and covered in four of those games a season ago. Five of Florida State’s last seven games finished over the college football betting line total.

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Outlook

Everything seems to be in place for Florida State to make a run at a spot in the ACC title game for the first time since winning three straight titles from 2014-16. Of course, that means getting by a Clemson program that has won six of the last eight ACC titles.

It will be worth watching to see if Travis can play his way into the Heisman Trophy conversation and if the offensive line develops quickly enough for the Seminoles to remain in the national title hunt.

Florida State will be tested right away with a matchup against Louisiana State in the Sept. 3 season opener before playing the home opener against Southern Mississippi.

Conference play begins on the road against Boston College. The last three times the Seminoles played in Chestnut Hill, they lost 35-3 in 2017 and barely escaped with 38-31 and 26-23 victories.

It is pretty curious scheduling to put what could be the game of the year in the ACC in September, but that is the case as FSU heads to face Clemson followed by the bye week and then a home showdown with Virginia Tech.

ACC play ends with matchups with Wake Forest, Miami and Pittsburgh before non-conference tilts with North Alabama and Florida. The Seminoles do not face North Carolina State, one of the three teams to beat them a season ago.

The Seminoles are listed by college football spreads as three–point underdogs in the season opener against Louisiana State.

Coming off a 10-win season, Florida State is priced at +115 to go over 10 wins during the regular season compared to -145 to finish under that total.