Florida State football enters the 2026 season needing to prove its recent struggles are temporary, and ESPN’s David Hale placed the Seminoles among a group of programs facing similar questions.
Hale included FSU in Tier 10: “It has to get better. Right? Right?!?” as part of his preseason breakdown sorting all 138 FBS programs into tiers. FSU is joined by the Florida Gators, Oklahoma State Cowboys, and South Carolina Gamecocks in the group.
The placement reflects how dramatically expectations have changed in Tallahassee since Florida State’s undefeated 2023 regular season and ACC Championship. The Seminoles followed that run with a 2-10 campaign in 2024 before improving to 5-7 last season, leaving Mike Norvell’s program at 7-17 over the past two years.
Florida State showed flashes of what a turnaround could look like in 2025, most notably with a 31-17 season-opening victory over Alabama. The Seminoles ultimately finished 5-7 and 2-6 in ACC play and ended up missing a bowl game for the second consecutive season.
Hale’s tier underscores the uncertainty surrounding whether FSU can finally translate its talent into sustained results. The Seminoles will turn to Ashton Daniels at quarterback after the Auburn Tigers transfer joined the program this offseason. Daniels has appeared in 37 career games between Stanford and Auburn, throwing for 4,783 yards while adding 1,397 yards on the ground.
There is proven production around him. Senior wide receiver Duce Robinson returns after earning first-team All-ACC honors with 56 receptions for 1,081 yards and six touchdowns last season, giving Florida State one of the conference’s most accomplished pass catchers.
The coaching structure has also changed. Gus Malzahn retired in February after one season as offensive coordinator, with Tim Harris Jr. promoted to the position. Norvell is preparing to take a more direct role in the offense again as FSU searches for the consistency that has been missing over the past two seasons.
For a program with Florida State’s expectations, Hale’s Tier 10 label captures the central question entering 2026: after two consecutive losing seasons, how much better will the Seminoles actually be?
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This article originally appeared on FSU Wire: ESPN places Florida State in concerning preseason tier
Reporting by Brandon Foster, FSU Wire / FSU Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Brandon Foster, FSU Wire | USA TODAY Network
