Florida State football fans know who the Noles will play in 2026, but don’t know when the ACC games will fall. That information will be released on Monday, January 26th, by the conference. The schedule Florida State had last year was laid out for Mike Norvell to take advantage of after a 2-10 season in 2024, especially knowing they beat Alabama in the season opener.
The two cupcake games (and a bye week) before ACC play should have provided the opportunity to work out all of the kinks with two new coordinators. FSU went backwards, losing its next four games after starting the season 3-0 and never seemed to recover.
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It’s amazing he’s still the head coach after the last two years, but the 2025 schedule is a make-or-break year for Mike Norvell. How the games fall could determine several wins and losses. We know the following dates for these games:
- New Mexico State (August 29th)
- @ Alabama (September 19th)
- Central Arkansas (September 26th)
- Florida (November 28th)
FSU will play these eight ACC games:
- @ Boston College
- Clemson
- NC State
- SMU
- Virginia
- @ Louisville
- @ Miami
- @ Pittsburgh
Here are five questions before the ACC final schedule release:
- When will FSU get its first bye-week? FSU will either have one right after the New Mexico game or probably one before the Alabama game.
- Which ACC opponent will FSU play first?
- Will they open ACC play at home or on the road?
- Would FSU rather play Miami and Clemson early or late in the season?
- How will the back half of the season shake out?
FSU had a week zero game in 2024 and had a bye week after playing against Georgia Tech. Last year, they played two games, with a bye week between the two cupcake games. The home opener against New Mexico State should theoretically serve as a working scrimmage to prepare FSU for ACC play.
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FSU probably wants to play an ACC team that’s beatable to get off to a good start to the season and in conference play. A road trip to Boston College, though never an easy place for FSU to win, would be the best bet, considering they were terrible last year.
If that’s the case, that means they’ll open ACC play on the road. FSU had a schedule front-loaded with home games last year, and will only have five road games this year.
FSU played Miami early and Clemson late last year. Clemson will have a new offensive coordinator and quarterback, and it’s a home game. I’d probably rather have them early. It’s not like an away game at Miami is daunting since their fans halfway show up.
The backhalf probably sees FSU with a home game before the Florida game to end the season, but I could see at least two of those road games happening in October and the other two in November.
At least FSU doesn’t have any crazy road trips to the West Coast this year. It’ll be interesting to see where the second by week falls and if they have any crazy Friday or Thursday night games. No question the ACC will probably try to stick it to FSU at some point in that schedule.