Florida State slots in as top team in ACC in ESPN's initial 2023 Preseason SP+ Rankings
The Seminoles are anticipated to be one of the top teams in the country in 2023. Following a ten-win campaign where Florida State concluded the year with six straight victories, including a thriller in the Cheez-It Bowl against Oklahoma, head coach Mike Norvell appears to have the program on the right track.
READ MORE: Urban Meyer names Florida State as one of the top jobs in all of College Football
FSU is returning plenty of talent this season including star quarterback Jordan Travis, running back Trey Benson, defensive end Jared Verse, defensive tackle Fabien Lovett, wide receiver Johnny Wilson, linebacker Tatum Bethune, cornerback Renardo Green, and safety Akeem Dent. The 'Noles have also added experience through the NCAA Transfer Portal with players such as defensive lineman Braden Fiske, tight end Jaheim Bell, offensive lineman Jeremiah Byers, and cornerback Fentrell 'Deuce' Cypress II, among others.
On Tuesday, ESPN released its initial 2023 Preseason SP+ Rankings and Florida State came in at No. 11, slotting in the program as the top-ranked team in the ACC. This comes on the heels of Bill Connelly listing the Seminoles as No. 1 in the country in returning production.
All things considered, this is a huge improvement from Connelly's final 2022 preseason rankings where the Seminoles were ranked No. 42. It's clear that the respect nationally is beginning to build once again in Tallahassee.
Teams ahead of Florida State in the SP+ Rankings include Georgia, Ohio State, Michigan, Alabama, Penn State, Tennessee, LSU, Oregon, Texas, and USC.
The Seminoles will face multiple teams in the initial SP+ top-50 in 2023 including LSU (No. 7), Clemson (No. 12), Florida (No. 20), Pittsburgh (No. 40), and Miami (No. 42)
There are three main factors that went into Connelly's SP+ Rankings that are detailed below:
"1. Returning production: The returning production numbers are based on rosters I have updated as much as possible to account for transfers and attrition. The combination of last year's SP+ ratings and adjustments based on returning production make up about half of the projections formula.
2. Recent recruiting: This piece informs us of the caliber of a team's potential replacements (and/or new stars) in the lineup. It is determined by the past few years of recruiting rankings in diminishing order (meaning the most recent class carries the most weight). Beginning this season, I am also incorporating transfers -- both the quality and the volume -- in a different way. After last season's transfer-heavy recruiting shift, I've got a bit more data for how to handle that. This piece makes up about one-third of the projections formula.
3. Recent history: Using a sliver of information from previous seasons (two to four years ago) gives us a good measure of overall program health. It stands to reason that a team that has played well for one year is less likely to duplicate that effort than a team that has been good for years on end (and vice versa), right? This is a minor piece of the puzzle -- only about 15% -- but the projections are better with it than without."
READ MORE: Florida State's full 2023 football schedule released
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