Florida State finds themselves in a lofty spot in ESPN's College Football Playoff projection as ACC play begins for the Seminoles

The Florida State Seminoles wrapped up the early season portion of their non-conference schedule in a way that has helped the program put a ghastly 2024 season in the rearview mirror.

With one of the nation's most impressive non-conference wins over Alabama 31-17 followed by blowout wins over East Texas A&M and Kent State, the Noles have looked every bit the part of a completely different team this season. Tommy Castellanos has come in and galvanized the program, providing energy, leadership, and production on the field for FSU.

So, what has that meant as far as national respect less than a year after going 2-10? A lot, as it turns out. The Noles are in the top 10 in both polls entering Week 5. And ESPN's Heather Dinich has Florida State #4 in her most recent College Football Projections.

ESPN analyst Heather Dinich has FSU ranked 4th in latest CFP projections

This is what Dinich had to say about FSU at #4:

"Why they could be here: Florida State has been dominant, ranking No. 3 in the country in ESPN's game control metric. The Noles also entered this week ranked No. 3 in strength of record. The Seminoles are passing the eye test but still need to beef up their résumé beyond a season-opening win against Alabama. The Tide were off this week but have played well against each of their past two unranked opponents, continuing to make Florida State's win valuable in the committee meeting room. The Seminoles, though, won't have another chance to impress the group against a ranked opponent until Oct. 4 against Miami." - Via Heather Dinich, ESPN.com

I mean, to be fair, October 4 is now less than two weeks away, so it's not that long from now. Florida State's next contest is back in the Power Four realm, as the Noles play at Virginia on Friday night before a national audience.

But the approaching clash with Miami a week from Saturday will be an enormous opportunity, as it will be the biggest game between the two rivals since perhaps both were competing for national titles together around 25 years ago. It will give FSU an opportunity to take the ACC race by the horns as well as assemble perhaps the best resume in all of college football through five weeks.

Man, what a difference a year can make.