College Football

2024 Florida State football predictions: Ranked No. 5 by RJ Young

Updated Aug. 12, 2024 10:19 a.m. ET

FOX Sports National College Football Analyst

Florida State Seminoles ranking: 5/134

[Check out RJ Young's ultimate 134 college football rankings here]

Conference ranking: 1st in Atlantic Coast (+290 to win conference)
Teams ahead of them: Oregon (4), Texas (3), Georgia (2), Ohio State (1)
Teams behind them: Ole Miss (6), LSU (7), Michigan (8), Alabama (9), Missouri (10)

[Florida State 2024 schedule]

RJ's take: It ain’t just that Mike Norvell added what feels like half of Alabama’s 2023 roster and former five-star QB DJ Uiagalelei to a program that went undefeated through the conference title game, or that he returns 187 combined starts on that offensive line. It’s that FSU has been out of pocket suing the ACC and aching for an opportunity to show the CFP selection committee they were wrong to leave a 13-0 Power 5 champion out of the four-team playoff last year.

Norvell is quite close to putting FSU back where Bobby Bowden had them for the better part of the 1990s, replacing 10 NFL Draft picks with players of equal talent. That means the only returning skill player who started on offense is tight end Kyle Morlock. So Norvell went shopping and came back with a haul like a dad fresh from four garage sales stops, two estate sales stops, and a quick turn through the flea market. When he got back to the house, he revealed a former five-star QB DJ in Uiagalelei, as well as Alabama transfers Terrence Ferguson, Malik Benson and Roydell Williams, adding to a team that will feature Fentrell Cypress and Patrick Payton on defense.

For the Noles, Payton should be what Jared Verse was — All Edgelord in the ACC. At 6-foot-5, 254 pounds, he notched seven sacks and two forced fumbles last year.

This season looks like a gauntlet run for the Noles in 2024 — at Southern Methodist on Sept. 28, at home vs. Clemson on Oct. 5, and on the road against Miami on Oct. 26.

Florida State's Win Total Odds: Over 9.5 (-110) Under 9.5 (-110)

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