FSU football has been picked by a lot of experts to win the ACC and possibly a national crown – but one expert has a hated rival in the conversation too.
For the second straight season, FSU football is one of the teams getting plenty of early love for a spot in the College Football Playoff and a national title. The Seminoles return quarterback Deondre Francois and a stellar defense that should make many dreams a reality for the 2017 edition of the Noles.
At the same time, the Seminoles could make history with wins over rivals Miami and Florida – which would make it eight and five games in a row, respectively, against those foes for the longest win streak in FSU history against both.
While both hated foes have taken a step back when it comes to national recognition, the Gators have some how managed a way to back door into the SEC East title each of the last two seasons under head coach Jim McElwain (which shows how weak the SEC East is). Some think it could be a three peat for a team that lost to a FCS for just four years ago…never forget.
One expert, Phil Steele, is taking it a step further and telling a Jacksonville radio station during a recent interview that Florida is his “surprise” national title contender:
"These guys are always good on defense, right? Well last year they lost quite a few guys to injury in the second half of the year, they had to play a lot of freshmen, guys like Jabari Zuniga up front at the defensive end spot, they gained experience.So even though they lose a lot of talented players off the defense, a lot of guys only started seven or eight games. They have a lot of the guys that gained experience back, I think they’ll be strong.”"
Yes, there is no doubt that the Gators have had a decent defense in recent years – well, except for against FSU when they have given up just under 30 points a game during their losing streak – the problem for the Gators is an offense that, quite frankly, might not be able to compete with some of the top high school teams in the Sunshine State.
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Last season, Florida finished 108th in total offense out of 128 FBS teams – and that’s been one of the better years since Urban Meyer left to “spend more time with his family” at ESPN and later Ohio State. The Gators are not going to be a bad team by any stretch (sadly), but without fixing the offensive side there is no way they sniff a national title.