Florida State Football: Realistic expectations for Seminoles in 2023

Florida State football is fresh off a 10-win season. The Seminoles are also loaded with talent and here’s a look at realistic expectations for 2023. 

There are few fanbases more excited about the 2023 college football season than Florida State football fans.

In the years after the departure of Jimbo Fisher, things got ugly in Tallahassee. Florida State football actually missed a bowl game — something that didn’t seem possible a couple of decades ago — and prior to last season, Mike Norvell seemed like a disaster.

However, the former Memphis head coach stayed the course, and last season, behind the huge improvement in quarterback Jordan Travis, Florida State football started to look like a powerhouse again. The Noles beat Florida and Miami, as well as Oklahoma to clinch a 10-win season.

But with a number of key players returning from last year’s team, including a potential first-round pick in 2023 Jared Verse, as well as Travis, another guy that chose to return to Florida State football instead of leaving for the NFL draft, the Seminoles are no joke.

Many have talked about them as a College Football Playoff contender. The Noles are also viewed as a favorite in the ACC, however, Clemson is still lurking and we still need to see Florida State take back the ACC crown before we crown them.

That being said, is winning the ACC realistic this season? We break it down and offer our thoughts on realistic expectations for Florida State this season.

Realistic expectations for Florida State football in 2023

Right now, at least in my opinion, it’s totally realistic for Florida State football to win the ACC. The Noles will be helped by the fact that the divisions in the ACC are gone.

The teams with the two best records will meet for the conference championship, so a loss at Clemson in the regular season might not doom the Noles.

Florida State is the better team, but with the home-field advantage, Clemson could win that first game. However, the rest of the ACC schedule is very manageable. The toughest games outside of Clemson are at Pittsburgh and Wake Forest.

Therefore, I see the Seminoles winning 10 or 11 games in the regular season, depending on the season opener against LSU. Florida might be better this season, but I’m not a believer in Graham Mertz at quarterback.

So, I wouldn’t be stunned if Florida State finished the season 12-1 with an ACC Championship. Now, because the committee is down on the ACC, probably even more than the Pac-12, it might be tough to crack the top four.

But Florida State football should be in the playoff conversation at the end of the season and to me, anything less than an ACC championship in 2023 will be a disappointment.