FSU snubbed by college football analyst in dark horse playoff conversation

Joel Klatt, a college football analyst and color commentator for Fox Sports, recently considered Florida State football and their chances to make the College Football Playoff as a dark horse team out of the ACC.

Despite going 2-10 last season, Klatt said he did give some thought to the Seminoles, but ultimately chose Georgia Tech to be his potential surprise team from the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Klatt believes that the reputation surrounding FSU as an "upper-echelon team" is wearing off as the 'Noles have had more losing seasons than winning ones under the leadership of head coach Mike Norvell.

What Did Joel Klatt Say About Florida State Football?

The Fox Sports commentator said there isn't sufficient evidence that FSU will return to its normal ways. In fact, Klatt believes Florida State's recent woes have become the new normal, evidenced over the last half-decade.

You can find his thoughts on FSU below:

“Thought about Florida State,” Klatt said. “I know that’s crazy. And it’s like, hold on. Aren’t they going to revert back to, like, the upper echelon team? That was my mindset. And then you just start doing any bit of research about Florida State and you realize that the 10-win seasons are actually the anomaly, the sub-.500 seasons are actually the rule.

"That’s problematic," Klatt added. "While I considered Florida State? I look at the five seasons under Mike Norvell. I see two 10-win seasons, I see three losing seasons. I don’t like that. I don’t like that at all.”

After pointing out that the 'Noles were consistently not competitive in almost all of their games last year (nine losses by 10 points or more), Klatt demeaned the recruiting efforts of Norvell's tenure, particularly at the high school level.

“Plus, I don’t think that they’ve got the level player that people believe that they have. Everyone thinks that, ah, you know, they’ve been good. No. Actually, they’ve just lived in the transfer portal, which I don’t think makes you a contender and that’s been proven out by the last two national championships – builds from within, built from within."

"Doesn’t mean they didn’t have transfers. It’s just not where they built. Florida State has leaned all the way into the transfer portal. Why have they had to do that? Because their high school recruiting has not been very good and not been very good at all … That doesn’t scream upper echelon or elite at all. So, if you’re wondering why Mike Norvell has had to live in the transfer portal, it’s because of that. The expectations are outpacing their recruiting. That’s a problem," Klatt said.

The Seminoles will attempt to get back on track in 2025 as they open the season against the Alabama Crimson Tide on Aug. 30 at 3:30 p.m. ET in Tallahassee.

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