FSU Football: Were the Noles hosed in the ACC rankings?

After a disappointing week one loss to Georgia Tech, coaches and journalists ranked FSU football last in the ACC? Was it deserved? What is it now?

FSU football saw its fanbase reeling after a devastating loss in week one. The ACC rankings then added insult to injury and ranked the Noles dead last in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Now despite the bye week, we have moved up to 12th in the league ahead of Syracuse, Duke, and Wake Forest according to the ESPN Rankings. This position is a little more accurate, but the rankings are still pretty weird. Those same rankings have UNC at 7th and Virginia and Virginia Tech at 9th and 10th respectively despite them not having played a game yet.

The rankings should be based on the product on the field and that is a little too high for having not played a game. Boston College and Georgia Tech are also ranked a little too high for my taste.

If I had my vote, sadly, Clemson, Notre Dame, UNC, Miami, and Pitt are top 5 and in that order. Then Boston College, NC State, Louisville, FSU, Georgia Tech, Duke, Wake Forest, Syracuse, and the Virginias.

At the end of the day, none of this matters until there is more of a product on the field for all of these teams. I wonder if this season matters in general with most teams having a revolving door of players in quarantine and players on the field, and some leagues just now entering the fray.

What I saw from FSU, what the fans saw, and what the coaches and higher-ups saw in that game against Georgia Tech is all that should matter.

What I saw from FSU, what the fans saw, and what the coaches saw in that game against Georgia Tech is all that should matter.
What I saw in that game was FSU excelling when the coaches had the most influence on the games, and stinking up the place when players got in their heads, and others stopped executing. I wish I saw more in-game adjustments, but with no spring, no summer, and barely a fall, what did the coaching staff and players have to adjust too?

It was a weird and disappointing game, very indicative of the times we are in outside of football. I think the initial ranking was one that came from emotion. Why else would ESPN’s FPI still have FSU favored in most of the rest of their games?

There are so many extenuating circumstances that nothing feels accurate. Everyone thought Louisville would be good, but that defense makes me skeptical. Everyone was downplaying Miami and their offense when they have looked pretty electric thus far.

I say this to say, with so many restrictions on evaluations, time with players, put as little stock as possible into rankings, and watch the games. Don’t jump on any bandwagon to call for anyone’s job, and stop thinking that FSU is still the pinnacle of success, and this rebuild is immediate.

Without COVID, it might have been, but the current scenario has restricted the possible progress of this program. This year is a “year zero,” staff. Give them this year to get acclimated since they couldn’t during the offseason, and tell everyone to run it back next year and keep that same energy.