After the official conclusion of the 2023 college football season, not much time is being lost in planning for 2024.
Florida State’s 2024 campaign will undoubtedly be a season of retaliation following their exclusion from the College Football Playoffs as the then-unbeaten Seminoles. Unfortunately for them, a number of fresh faces will be joining the season.
Longtime QB Jordan Travis, skill position players throughout the offensive line, and several key defensive contributors like Jared Verse and Kalen DeLoach are all gone. There will be a lot of output lost at FSU the next season due to a wave of Seminoles entering the NFL Draft.
What impression does FSU have early in the 2024 offseason from the national college football media, given the state of uncertainty? This is a list of the very early 2024 rankings that these authors have for FSU.
According to Mark Schlabach of ESPN, FSU will regress going into the 2024 campaign. According to his preliminary 2024 rating, FSU is ranked No. 16. That shouldn’t be shocking considering how many players FSU is losing for 2023.
It is noteworthy that FSU, which is ranked No. 16, remains the top-ranked ACC team, three positions ahead of Clemson, which is ranked No. 19. From there, ACC opponents fill the back of the top 25, with NC State at No. 20, Louisville at No. 22, and newly admitted ACC school SMU at No. 24.
Schlabach’s take: There will likely be a long-lasting hurt after going undefeated and missing out on the CFP. With several of their top players moving on, coach Mike Norvell and his staff will have to pick up the pieces. Jordan Travis’s replacement will be the enviable task of DJ Uiagalelei.
At Clemson and Oregon State, DJU started 40 games in his career, going 30-10 with 8,319 passing yards and 57 touchdowns. With Marvin Jones Jr., a former Georgia linebacker whose father was an All-American at FSU, the Seminoles added a significant piece to their defence. In 2024, there will be a lot of fresh faces on both sides of the ball.
The Athletic
Stewart Mandel of The Athletic is less upbeat about FSU going into the 2024 summer. In his initial 2024 top 25, he ranks the Seminoles No. 19.
According to Mandel’s rankings, FSU is neither the top-ranked ACC team nor the second-best team overall. In his just-missed group outside the top 25, he has Clemson at No. 10 and Louisville at No. 16, along with NC State and Virginia Tech.
Mandel’s take: Given that almost all of FSU’s top players from 2023 are headed to the NFL, the school may suffer a significant setback. DJ Uiagalelei, a former starter for Oregon State and Clemson, is the new quarterback. ACC-only OL A crucial component is Darius Washington. Lawrance Toafili rises to prominence as a back.
Youth wide receivers must step up. The defence, which is without players Braden Fiske, Kalen DeLoach, and Jared Verse, is led by defensive tackle Joshua Farmer, wide receiver Shyheim Brown, and cornerback Fentrell Cypress II.
Action Network
Action Network’s Brett McMurphy ranks FSU as high as 20 in his extremely early 2024 poll. At No. 18, Clemson is also the highest-ranked ACC team on his list; the Seminoles are closely followed by Miami (No. 22) and NC State (No. 24). Furthermore, McMurphy ranks Notre Dame, whom FSU will travel to face in November, seventh.
CBS Sports
Additionally, FSU is not picked as the top ACC club by CBS Sports writer Dennis Dodd in his initial 2024 poll. But he also doesn’t have Clemson with him. Dodd’s newly acquired ACC team, SMU, is ranked No. 18, one spot ahead of the 19th-ranked Seminoles in the conference.
After going 11-2 this season, SMU fell to Boston College in the Fenway Bowl and was presumably passed over to represent the G5 in the New Year’s Six. That will undoubtedly put a lot of pressure on the Mustangs as they make their debut appearance in a Power conference.
No. 21 Clemson, No. 22 NC State, and No. 25 Louisville trail closely behind FSU.
Dodd’s opinion: We got an early look at how much the Seminoles will lose in 2024 thanks to opt-outs and injuries that affected their Orange Bowl trip. The greatest acquisition is D.J. Uiagalelei, but as he enters his third year of college, he still has a ways to go before he can prepare for the NFL and leave a lasting college legacy.
Pro Football Focus
Additionally, Max Chadwick of PFF isn’t too optimistic about FSU going into the offseason. At No. 16, he ranks FSU as the third-best ACC team, behind No. 13 Clemson and No. 14 Louisville. At number 24, SMU completes the ACC’s group of teams.
Viewpoint of Chadwick: Florida State, like Washington, is losing most of its best players, who helped the Seminoles to a 13-0 record prior to their contentious exclusion from the College Football Playoffs. Jordan Travis, the quarterback whose season-ending leg injury was the primary cause of FSU’s first exclusion from the playoffs, was one of those losses.
After starting for Clemson in the past, DJ Uiagalelei of Oregon State returned to the ACC, and Florida State was able to make a big impression in the portal to replace him. Among Pac-12 quarterbacks, only Michael Penix Jr. had a lower big-time throw percentage than him (6.5%).
USA Today
The way-too-early 2024 top 25 was put up by Paul Myerberg and Erick Smith of USA Today. They rank Clemson higher than most, with the Tigers at No. 11, and FSU at No. 18.
Virginia Tech is ranked No. 25, and NC State is ranked No. 21. Notre Dame, the opponent in 2024, is ranked No. 6, well outside the top five.
The opinion of USA Today: It may be a difficult task for a club that has to find a new starting quarterback to take Jordan Travis’ spot to get back to the playoffs.
There is still a lot of skill in Tallahassee, despite the departure of Travis and prominent DL Jared Verse. A number of players, such as OL Darius Washington, DE Byron Turner Jr., and RB Lawrance Toafili, have chosen to return in 2024, which has helped the Seminoles. With a veteran squad, they might be just one quarterback away from winning the ACC again and earning a postseason berth.
Pat Forde of Sports Illustrated has a better opinion of the Seminoles than most going into the 2024 offseason. The highest-ranked ACC team, FSU, is ranked No. 14 on his way-too-early 2024 ranking list.
The third and last team on this list is No. 21 NC State, with Clemson at No. 16 not far behind.
Forde’s perspective: Following an injury-plagued and furious 2023 unbeaten season, the Seminoles will likely need to undertake a significant rebuild. The return of transfer quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei to the ACC facilitates the transition. Florida State ought to be strong up front on both sides of the ball, but fresh playmakers will need to step up defensively in the back seven and at offensive skill positions. A trip to Notre Dame and a home game versus Clemson might be crucial.
Yahoo! Sports
Another more optimistic forecast for FSU came from Nick Bromberg of Yahoo Sports. At No. 11, he has the Seminoles challenging for a top-10 position. The top-ranked ACC club is FSU, which is four positions ahead of No. 15 Clemson, followed by SMU at No. 21 and Louisville at No. 25.
In Bromberg’s opinion, another squad that had an incredible season is losing a tonne of potential. Along with top DE Jared Verse and other defenders, Florida State needs to replace quarterback Jordan Travis, running back Trey Benson, wide receivers Keon Coleman and Johnny Wilson. Coach Mike Norvell has already replaced Travis with DJ Uiagalelei after demonstrating his proficiency with the transfer site. The Seminoles ought to be leading the ACC, a conference they fervently wish to exit.
Athletic News
The national journalist who is most upbeat about FSU going into the offseason will be our last guest. The Seminoles are ranked No. 10 in Sporting News’ preliminary 2024 poll, which was made public on Tuesday morning.
Among ACC opponents, Clemson is ranked No. 16, followed by Louisville at No. 22, SMU at No. 23, and Georgia Tech, FSU’s opponent in Week 0 at No. 25.
Bender’s opinion: After this year’s playoff disappointment, many will continue to discuss the Seminoles’ chances of staying in the ACC, but this is still the most talented team in the conference. Former Clemson quarterback DJ Uiagalelei, who spent the previous season playing for Oregon State, is back in the conference. The team will have more depth on defence with the return of Georgia transfer Mavin Jones, along with running back Lawrence Toafili and a talented receiver room. With the portal and recruiting, Mike Norvell is developing a contender, and considering how many players chose to sit out of the Orange Bowl, the team’s defeat against Georgia is hardly a major setback. Florida State’s first games are on August 24 at Dublin, Ireland, against Georgia Tech, and on September 9 at Notre Dame. We don’t have time to think about what might have happened in 2023.