FSU Football’s Schedule Showcases Tough Four-Game Stretch in 2024

Weeks 8-11 could be FSU's toughest tests.

Author:
Jackson Bakich
Publish date:
Jan 25, 2024 6:00 PM EST

In this story:

The 2024 Florida State football schedule has officially dropped. Fans can start planning their home and away trips, students with birthdays during the fall semester can start telling their friends which weekend to come to Tallahassee, and members of the media can have something to debate, discuss, and obsess over for the next eight months.

FSU’s schedule is certainly unorthodox.

A trip to Dublin, Ireland, to face Georgia Tech in Week 0, alongside a Labor Day matchup against Boston College in Week 1, is certainly not your typical two-week opening stretch.

However, the ACC gave Florida State some unexpected grace as the Seminoles were given an open date before games in which they would’ve had a short week to prepare without the bye.

The toughest stretch for the ’Noles will be from Weeks 8-11. Despite not playing Clemson or Florida (both of those games are in Tallahassee this year) during this period, FSU will have to face three marquee opponents on the road.

Week 8, at Duke:

With a familiar face to Florida State fans running the show, newly minted Duke head coach Manny Diaz will look to bring that same defensive edge that he brought to Penn State since he was replaced by Mario Cristobal at Miami in Coral Gables.

Ask Clemson what happened when they seemingly strolled into Durham at the beginning of last year and came in flat against a very well-coached Mike Elko team. With former Texas quarterback Maalik Murphy taking the reins, it could be an interesting matchup for the Seminoles following the Week 7 bye.

Week 9, at Miami

There doesn’t need to be a whole lot said about this game; it's Miami. Rivalry games can always go array, derailing someone’s season in the process. Florida State had a hard time putting the Hurricanes away in 2023. Miami adds one of the top transfer prospects this year in QB Cam Ward, and the game is being played down south.

It could be an instant classic at Hard Rock Stadium.

Week 10, vs. North Carolina

This matchup is one of those wait-and-see games. For instance, not too many people (except for maybe some inside the Durham city limits) thought that the FSU-Duke game would be an AP Top-25 matchup before the season started. Without Drake Maye, it will be interesting to witness how Mack Brown and the Tar Heels employ new starting quarterback Max Johnson from Texas A&M and LSU.

Week 11, at Notre Dame

Rounding out this tough four-game stretch for the Seminoles is the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in South Bend, Indiana.

Florida State and Riley Leonard will square off again, but this time, it won’t be in the Sunshine State, and Leonard will have some new threads. He transferred to Notre Dame from Duke after the 2023 season.

A lot has changed since the Fighting Irish last met with the Seminoles in 2021 in an overtime thriller. Notre Dame replaced now-LSU head coach Brian Kelly (someone FSU fans are certainly familiar with) for former ND defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman. He has gone 9-4 and 10-3 in his first two seasons with the team.

However, with the addition of Leonard – who was hurt for the majority of the second half against FSU in 2023 – Notre Dame will look to rewrite history in 2024.

The full schedule can be viewed below.