College Football: Preseason Top 25 Projections

The Seminoles cratered last year after their much-hyped opener against Alabama. Once Deondre Francois was injured, it was a battle just to reach .500 in the standings and qualify for a bowl game. Florida State made it to that threshold with James Blackman at quarterback, but Francois is healthy again. That alone will be enough to get the voters salivating as they place Florida State somewhere in the mid-to-high teens in the AP Top 25 this preseason.

He will be playing in a new system, though, as Jimbo Fisher headed off to Texas A&M and the Seminoles poached Willie Taggart away from Oregon. Taggart is quite familiar with the Sunshine State, and should have little trouble getting good players to Tallahassee. This year, however, the cupboards are much fuller on offense than they are on defense. Eight starters return on offense, with tight end Ryan Izzo, receiver Auden Tate, and right tackle Rick Leonard the only players gone.

Defense is where most of the rapid rebuilding needs to happen for Florida State. The Seminoles lost seven starters from last season’s team. Derwin Jones was a first-round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, while fellow safety Trey Marshall is also gone. Derrick Nnadi‘s loss puts a huge hole in the defensive line, while Josh Sweat‘s departure eliminates a major threat on the edge. This year any collapse will likely be due to the defense underachieving.