Florida State football, ranked near the bottom of the ACC, would have been something nobody thought was possible a few years ago. As bad as Florida State was in the Willie Taggart era, they were still Florida State, and some ACC teams still feared the Seminoles.
Fast forward to 2026, and Florida State hasn’t won a true road game in over two years and has gone 7-17 over the last two seasons. The thought of Florida State being near the top of the ACC is the joke nowadays, with nobody picking the Noles to win anything significant. Frankly, most would consider Florida State lucky to make a bowl game for the first time since the undefeated 2023 regular season.
Amazingly, the magical season feels like eons ago, and it doesn’t feel like there’s any light at the end of the tunnel. I guess this is what it felt like to be a Miami Hurricanes fan for nearly the past quarter of a century until they finally won some games the past couple of years. Here’s the thing: FSU is so bad that they are near the bottom of the most recent ACC Power Rankings:
NEW: Preseason ACC Power Rankings📈
— On3 (@On3) June 10, 2026
(via @AndyStaples) https://t.co/djAiKrEOsd pic.twitter.com/PZGTHpzXR6
Florida State football near the bottom of the ACC is a harsh reality for Seminole fans, but they hope those fortunes change soon.
The first disclaimer is that Andy Staples is a Florida Gator, so let’s factor in that point. Nevertheless, FSU, as the No. 13 team out of 17, still blows my mind. The crazy part is that Florida State has actually lost to some teams on that list last year. It wouldn’t be far-fetched to question why Florida State is as high on that list as it is.
That’s been the frustrating part about all of this. FSU went from kicking everybody in the head to getting run over by teams with inferior talent. How does that happen?
However, it feels like we’ve reached a point of no return with Mike Norvell as the head coach. He either will win enough games to save himself and make the fanbase believe in him again, or he has to go. There is no in-between, because opposing teams continue to use the Mike Norvell angle against Florida State in recruiting.
The critical question is: Will Florida State make the right hire if they decide to fire Mike Norvell? They will likely have a good bead on things in the first few weeks of the 2026 season. The Seminoles will likely win their opener, but the next two games will be crucial for Mike Norvell. If FSU can beat SMU and hang with Alabama, it might give Mike Norvell new life. If they get blown out by both programs, we can likely go head a call it a season and get on with the firing process.
Who would have thought Clemson or Florida State wouldn’t be among the top three programs in any ACC power ranking? It’s crazy how quickly things have changed, and Florida State fans hope they can quickly change back in their favor to get out of this seemingly never-ending nightmare.
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