Last season, the Florida State football program was undefeated, won the conference title game and featured an elite defense led by pass rusher Jared Barth. However, despite a highly successful 2023 regular season, the College Football Playoff committee voted to remove the Florida State Seminoles from the four-team postseason field, making them the first Power Five team in the CFP era to go undefeated and win a conference championship game while missing out on a chance to compete for a national title. Florida State remains among the top teams in the ACC heading into next fall, but one SEC-centric commentator believes they will struggle in 2024.
On ESPN's flagship show “First Take,” SEC media personality and college football expert Paul Finebaum predicted that Florida State was most likely to finish unranked among the teams in the preseason AP top 10 rankings. In 2017, the Seminoles started as a preseason top 10 team but finished outside of the AP rankings at the end of the year. They began the season ranked No. 3 but finished the season with a 7-6 record.
Paul Finebaum: Predicting a downturn for Florida State football
SEC Nation's Paul Finebaum photographed before the Alabama vs. LSU game on Nov. 9, 2019 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
Sec Nation (Florida State Seminoles Football Recruiting) (Florida State Football)
Every season, at least one team in the preseason top 10 finishes unranked. Last season, the USC Trojans began the season as the sixth-ranked team in the country, but finished 8-5 and narrowly missed out on making the AP Top 25 for the postseason. In 2022, the Texas A&M Aggies began the season ranked sixth, but finished with a dismal 5-7 record and failed to qualify for a bowl. This year, national college football insider Paul Finebaum believes the Florida State football team is most likely to finish the season unranked. Furthermore, Finebaum believes the Seminoles do not deserve to be ranked in the preseason top 10, despite going 13-1 last year.
ESPN's Paul Finebaum #FSU The team will finish the 2024 season unranked.
“First of all, they don't deserve to be in the top 10.”
“I think they've cried too many tears about not making the playoffs, and that might slow them down a little bit this year.” #Knolls pic.twitter.com/K2Unq9mf0t
— Logan B. Robinson (@LogansTwitty) August 13, 2024
“Florida State. First of all, they don't deserve to be in the top 10. They have a tough schedule. Florida State has road trips against Miami and Notre Dame in the next three weeks. They end their season in Florida, and Florida is a controversial team. I think they'll struggle this year in run-of-the-mill ACC games that they didn't have last year. Their defensive back is broken. Their quarterback is certainly performing, but there are still question marks. And they're hungover. They've cried too much about not making the playoffs, so they might slow down this year.”
Most notably, Florida State football lost most of its defensive playmakers from last season. Defensive lineman Jared Verss, the team's leading sack leader, was selected in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft, while interception leader Jarrian Jones and tackle leader Tatum Bethune were also selected in the most recent draft. However, Patrick Payton will return to the Seminoles next season after a 14.5 TFL, seven sack season. Ultra-athletic linebacker DJ Lundy also returns after entering the transfer portal this offseason.
Florida State Football: Quarterback position change
Florida State Seminoles quarterback DJ Uiagalelei (4) appears during the Spring Showcase at Doak S. Campbell Stadium on April 20, 2024 in Tallahassee, Florida, USA. Credit: Melina Myers-USA TODAY Sports (Florida State Seminoles quarterback DJ Uiagalelei)
For the first time since 2019, Florida State's football program will operate without quarterback Jordan Travis. Travis, who finished fifth in the 2023 Heisman Trophy voting, was selected in the fifth round of the upcoming NFL Draft after six years of collegiate experience. Florida State will now turn to quarterback DJ Uiagalelei, a former five-star prospect and two-time transfer. Uiagalelei, the top-ranked pro quarterback in the 2020 class, played behind future No. 1 overall pick Trevor Lawrence during his rookie season with the Clemson Tigers. Uiagalelei took over as the starter in 2021 but struggled considerably, passing for 2,246 yards, nine touchdowns and 10 interceptions.
After a strong 2022 season, throwing 22 touchdowns against seven interceptions and starting fellow passer Cade Klubnick in Clemson's bowl game loss to Tennessee, Uiagalelei entered the transfer portal. Uiagalelei transferred to the Oregon State Beavers for the 2023 season, where he threw for 2,638 yards passing, 21 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Uiagalelei will take over for the powerhouse Florida State football team in 2024.
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