Florida State’s 2025 season ended with more frustration than celebration, but ESPN still sees the Seminoles as a team that can move forward in 2026.
That view comes after a year in which FSU climbed 42 spots in ESPN’s SP+ rankings and more than doubled its win total from the season before. Even so, the Seminoles finished 5-7, which meant a second straight losing season for a program that had gone 13-1 just two years earlier.
In a recent ranking, ESPN’s Bill Connelly put Florida State among his bounce-back candidates, while also making clear just how hard it is to judge the program against the expectations attached to Mike Norvell.
"Technically, anytime you improve by three wins and 42 spots in SP+, you have pulled off an excellent rebound season," Connelly wrote. "And technically, going 5-7 just two years after you went 13-1 is never going to be anything but massively disappointing. It's impossible to set expectations for Mike Norvell and FSU."
Connelly also noted that the Seminoles’ 2025 improvement did little to soften the disappointment around the season in Tallahassee.
"I'm guessing FSU fans wouldn't describe anything about the 2025 season as a "breakthrough," but the Seminoles technically qualified for the list with a decent-sized rebound after 2024's all-time collapse," Connelly continued "And they should improve further this fall, even if that's not saying just a ton. The Ashton Daniels-to-Duce Robinson pitch-and-catch combo should be fun, and the defensive front six should be solid. That Mike Norvell had to rebuild his offensive line again is scary, though."
Florida State now gets very little runway to prove that projection right. The Seminoles open conference play at home against SMU, then head to Alabama two weeks later in a stretch that will quickly show whether the team’s progress is real.
That early test matters because FSU already learned last season that a hot start in September does not guarantee anything down the line. The Seminoles opened 2025 by beating Alabama and entered their first conference game at 3-0.
Then came the turn. A double-overtime loss at Virginia started a four-game losing streak, and the season - along with bowl hopes - slipped away from the Seminoles.
SMU will give Florida State its first chance to show what Daniels and the rebuilt offensive line can do, while the trip to Tuscaloosa will be a major challenge for a team that went winless on the road last season. Another early upset would matter only if the Seminoles can turn it into something more lasting than a September surge.
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Bradyn Welch-Joiner, a transfer center and Desirs teammate, went even further in praising the young lineman, seeing him as a potential first-round NFL draft pick if the upward trend continues. There is still work to do in the areas scouts care about most, including balance, strength and run defense, but Florida State got an important piece of news when Desir and his twin brother Darryll both entered the transfer portal and then returned for the upcoming season. [Read more 🡒]