Polls Doom Seminoles to an 11th-Place Plunge
ACC media voters have cast a harsh judgment on Florida State’s football program, slotting the Seminoles 11th out of 17 teams—the lowest preseason pick in school history. After two straight losing seasons under Mike Norvell, Florida State must overcome the toughest conference schedule, touted by ESPN’s FPI as the ACC’s hardest slate and 22nd nationally. Despite the grim projections, Norvell insists that talk is cheap: “Words don’t matter. It’s about the action,” he reminded critics at ACC Kickoff.
Ah yes, preseason polls—the high priests of doom who gather every summer to decree that FSU is destined to wander the ACC wilderness like a band of lost tourists. Because nothing screams “championship pedigree” like a deep dive to 11th place before a single kickoff. And sure, coach Norvell’s mantra of “actions over words” is inspiring—if by “actions” he means hiring an oracle to read the tea leaves at midfield. Really, though, why heed these naysayers when Seminole fans can always console themselves with playoff bans and nostalgia for the ’90s?
Seminole DB Derby: Who Will Patrol the Secondary?
Florida State’s defensive backfield faces a seismic overhaul heading into the 2026 season. Three starters have departed—Jerry Wilson graduated, safeties Earl Little Jr. and Edwin Joseph transferred—and veteran coach Patrick Surtain Sr. was replaced by Blue Adams. Returnees include cornerback Ja’Bril Rawls and rover Ashlynd Barker, but a crop of transfers and under-the-radar sophomores—Quindarrius Jones, Nehemiah Chandler, CJ Richard Jr.—are jostling for playing time. As fall camp unfolds, the key questions are who will line up opposite Rawls and who will patrol the deep safety slot.
Behold the grand spectacle of the Seminole DB derby, where twenty-something kids with redshirt prefixes vie for the honor of getting torched on national television. It’s like “The Hunger Games,” but with more shoulder pads and fewer mutant wombats. We’ve got a coach swap, a transfer twister, and a depth chart that reads like an entry-level Rolodex—all in the quest to find someone who remembers where their assignment is. Grab your popcorn: nothing says “college football” like rookie mistakes delivered at warp speed in capital letters.
Leave a Reply