Florida State Football Still In Top-35 In ESPN SP+ Rankings After Dreadful Start

Originally posted on Florida State Seminoles on SI
By Jackson Bakich | Last updated Sep 10, 2024 7:30 AM ET

The Florida State Seminoles found themselves outside another top 25, this time it’s ESPN’s SP+ rankings. According to the news company, SP+ is a “tempo and opponent-adjusted measure of college football efficiency … simply a measure of the most sustainable and predictable aspects of football.” FSU finds itself ranked #34 after Week 2, the highest-ranked 0-2 team according to the model.

In fact, the ’Noles are the only 0-2 team in the top 90 with the 0-2 Houston Cougars taking the 91st spot. It appears the SP+ model from ESPN’s Bill Connelly still trusts Florida State despite the program’s woes on both sides of the ball.

Florida State still has a chance to win the Atlantic Coast Conference, but it might demand some help (perhaps via losses by other ACC teams). However, if FSU doesn’t take care of business on its own end, it will not matter either way. With SMU, Clemson, and Miami still on the schedule, the hardest parts of the Seminoles’ season are ahead of them.

With the bye week to prepare, the ’Noles will look to bounce back against head coach Mike Norvell’s old team in the Memphis Tigers at noon on Saturday. It feels as though regardless of who Florida State plays each weekend, a sudden revival of physicality, effort, and morale will be necessary for an addition to the win column – something FSU hasn’t experienced since Dec. 2 in Charlotte at the ACC Championship Game.

After Memphis, the Seminoles will remain in the Sunshine State’s capital when they face the California Golden Bears in an attempt to get their first conference win of the season.