ACC Football: Biggest offseason question for every team
By John Buhler
Florida State Seminoles: Is it national championship or bust for the ‘Noles?
Perhaps the team in the ACC that has the best chance to play for a national title in 2017 is Jimbo Fisher’s Florida State Seminoles. In a slight down-year for the program, Florida State still went 10-3 (6-2) and beat the Michigan Wolverines in the FedEx Orange Bowl.
Florida State’s is one of the few undeniable blue-bloods in college football and the Seminoles could be in the mix to represent the ACC in the College Football Playoff this January. Of course, the Seminoles can’t lose to their two biggest ACC Atlantic rivals in the Clemson Tigers and the Louisville Cardinals. Does Florida State have a navigable path to the College Football Playoff?
Well, they will have to play the Alabama Crimson Tide in a neutral-site game on Labor Day Weekend. The ‘Noles and the Crimson Tide will meet at brand-new Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta for the 2017 Chick-Fil-A Kickoff on Saturday, Sep. 2. A win over Alabama in Atlanta could signify a very special year for Florida State football.
Frankly, Florida State can lose to Alabama and still be in great shape for January. Of course, the Seminoles would have to run the table the rest of the way. Florida State gets cross-divisional foe Miami at home on September 16. Louisville is at home on October 21, but the Seminoles will have to play Clemson on the road on November 11 and in-state rival Florida in Gainesville on November 25.
September and November will be hard for Florida State, but the team should breeze through October unscathed. Two losses in 2017 would not be a bad year for Florida State football by any means. However, the Seminoles can afford only one to reach the College Football Playoff. With Alabama on the slate and the ACC being better than it has ever been, it honestly isn’t national title or bust for the Seminoles, though it’s an attainable goal for sure.