In 2023, the Florida State Seminoles appeared to be on a fast track to returning to the top tier of the College Football world. Mike Norvell was coming off of a 10-3 season which marked his best season yet, leading the Seminoles. Jordan Travis suffered a devastating season ending injury which would keep him from playing football ever again and it completely changed the direction of Florida State's program.
The Seminoles finished the Regular Season 13-0 just to get stunned during the College Football Playoff selection show as they became the first undefeated Power 5 program to be left out of the Playoff.
The 2024 season saw the Seminoles undergo one of the worst seasons in program history as the team went 2-10 winning just 1 game in ACC Play. It was clear that Mike Norvell's reliance on the transfer portal hadn't panned out, as showcased by DJ Uiagalelei's struggles taking over at Quarterback.
Heading into the 2025 season, the Florida State Seminoles aren't expected to be one of the teams in contention. ESPN's Football Power Index ranks the Seminoles as the 48th-ranked team in the Country, which is a long way away from where the program is expected to rank. At 48th, the Seminoles fall behind 3 Non-Power 4 schools, and programs like Kentucky, Iowa, and many others that Florida State fans would scoff at being compared to.
The truth is that in an era where it's easier than ever for the "Blue Bloods" to build a roster as NIL and the transfer portal have made it easier than ever to load up on talent. Instead, the Seminoles haven't been able to sign a Top 10 recruiting class under Mike Norvell which has gotten their roster to this point. This offseason, the transfer portal turnover continued as the team added 23 players while losing 27 players.
In the ACC alone, Clemson, Miami, SMU, Georgia Tech, and Louisville will all certainly have higher expectations than then Seminoles. In that second group with Florida State land programs like Virginia Tech, Boston College, North Carolina, Syracuse, Duke, and others.
Frankly put, Florida State has become shockingly irrelevant in the College Football landscape heading into this season. Just two years removed from going undefeated, the Seminoles are a total after thought in the National conversation. Mike Norvell needs to quickly find out how to get the program back to the level of its standards otherwise it risks getting left in the dust.