FSU Football: Quick takeaways from preseason coaches poll release

FSU football found themselves ranked in the top 20 after all that took place last season – so what are the three things we can take away from the poll.

After what took place in the 2017 season where the FSU football team had the worst record for the program in the last 41 seasons – which is saying a lot since the Seminoles still finished with a 7-6 record on the year – many wondered where they would start the 2018 season when the first official poll came out.

Thursday, the Noles got a bit of good news when the USA Today Coaches Poll had Florida State inside the top 20 – ranking FSU football at No. 19 which is their lowest start to a season since the 2013 campaign when they also started outside the top 10 (and we all remember how that one turned out).

The Seminoles were also joined by plenty of teams they have seen in the past few years and a handful or programs they will see before the 2018 regular season comes to an end – including two teams from the ACC ranked in the top 10.

After looking at what the 65 coaches (or for some, their secretaries that fill out the poll) put together, here are the three quick takeaways from the first official poll of 2018.

No. 1 – FSU football cemented their position as having the hardest schedule in college football.

Last season, the Seminoles started the year at No. 3 and had the “good fortune” of playing a team ranked higher than them. Florida State will have the same thing this year when they host No. 17 Virginia Tech, but that’s just the start of the fun.

The Noles will face three of the top 11 teams in the preseason poll (No. 2 Clemson, No. 8 Miami and No. 11 Notre Dame) over a five game span in the middle to end of the season to go along with Florida, Boston College and N.C. State – three teams in the top 11 of the others receiving votes.

No. 2 –  The ACC did not get proper respect among the power conferences.

Of the 22 teams ranked in the first poll that are in the five major conferences, the folks who play FSU football the most are looking up at the other leagues – as the SEC, Big 12 and Big 10 each put five teams in the poll while the ACC had just four and the Pac 12 had three.

I’m not going to fight for the Pac 12 since they are arguably the weakest of the five groups right now, but I will fight for teams like N.C. State and Boston College being ranked over others like Texas and LSU at this point based on what we have seen of late.

No. 3 – Not a lot of change is predicted for the College Football Playoff among teams.

In the four years of the system, there have been a total of nine teams – including FSU football in 2014 – to make it to the CFP. Eight of those nine teams are ranked in the top 19 of the inaugural poll this year, with the top six all being in that group followed by Michigan State at No. 12 and the Noles where we are.

So, the question becomes will we see someone emerge from the group of teams just outside the top six – or will it be another season of Clemson, Alabama, Oklahoma and one other team for the Seminoles and everyone else to watch.