FSU football has been voted to finish in second in the Atlantic Coast Conference Preseason Media Poll.
Clemson was first on the ballot with a total of 103 first place votes. The Noles finished with 67 first place votes, followed by UNC with five and NC State with one. FSU is coming off of its first 10-win seasons since 2016, grabbing a Cheez-It Bowl trophy to memorate it. Although a successful season in the grand scheme of FSU football the last five or so seasons, head coach Mike Norvell is looking to bring home an even bigger trophy at the end of the year.
To recap the video, the main quote here is "If you do not embrace expectation, do not come to Florida State." With the ACC being one of the weaker Power 5 conferences as far as depth goes, FSU has a tall task ahead of it to advance further than a New Year Six Bowl Game. Teams can't control how difficult conference games are in your schedule on a year-to-year bases per say. You can only play the teams in front of you, so FSU will have to make sure they prove week in and week out why they deserve to be viewed as the best team in the ACC, snd ultimately one of the best teams in the country. The Seminoles also open up the season strong with a week 1 neutral site game against LSU, a matchup they won a year ago.
The Seminoles return a ton of future NFL talents to their roster from last season. Four FSU players were named to the Preseason All-ACC Team, the most of any team behind Clemson who finished with seven. RB Trey Benson, DB Fentrell Cypress II, DL Jared Verse, and WR Johnny Wilson were all selected to the team. The big name left off here was QB Jordan Travis who threw for 3,200 yards, 24 touchdowns, and seven rushing touchdowns last season. The QB selected for the first-team was UNC QB Drake Maye, coming off a 4,300 passing yards, 38 passing touchdowns, and seven rushing touchdown season for the Tar Heals. Maye also got the advantage for Preseason Conference Player of the Year over Travis.
FSU will have a chance to prove a point against the lone team voted above them with a week four matchup at Clemson. Were the Noles disrespected? Possibly, but lucky for them, they have potential to rise up the ranks as the season progresses. Brandon and I dive into this debate today at 3 p.m. EST on 'In The Zone'. Tune in on 96.9 The Game or on the iHeartMedia app.