Florida State Football: Ranking 2018 opponents by difficulty

Yet another tough road game awaits Florida State in 2018. The Seminoles seem to be finding that most of their ranked matchups are on the road, and Notre Dame is no different.

The Fighting Irish, like the Miami Hurricanes, had a rough end to their season, going 2-2 in the final four games, including blowout losses to Miami and Stanford. If they could have finished the season stronger, they could have made the College Football Playoff, even as an Independent.

Notre Dame returns Brandon Wimbush under center, but he still needs to prove he can be more than just a running quarterback. He finished the 2017 season with a sub-50 percent completion rate, and that’s not going to cut it against the Seminoles.

Also, playing in South Bend is not friendly for visitors. The environment in Notre Dam Stadium is electric and since this is a night game in November, it becomes even more intimidating.

Dexter Williams will be tasked with replacing Josh Adams, which won’t be easy. That could put a slight damper on the run game, but Williams has plenty of potential.

The defense should see improvement even with the departure of Mike Elko. Nine starters return and a few guys have All-American skill sets.

This will be one of those late-season must-see matchups.