Florida State did not take the field in Week 2, and its position in ESPN’s Football Power Index remained unchanged heading into one of the toughest games on its schedule.
The Seminoles are No. 37 nationally in ESPN’s latest FPI rankings
, carrying a 7.7 rating entering Week 3. Florida State is the seventh-highest ACC program in the metric, trailing Miami, SMU, Virginia, Louisville, Pittsburgh and Virginia Tech.ESPN defines FPI as a predictive measure of team strength designed to estimate performance moving forward. A team’s rating represents how many points above or below an average FBS team it is considered on a neutral field, with season projections based on 20,000 simulations.
FSU has fallen nine spots from its preseason position of No. 28.
The Seminoles slipped to No. 32 following their 34-17 season-opening victory over New Mexico State and dropped to No. 37 after a 27-24 loss to SMU. Their ranking held steady during the Week 2 open date.
The model has also become considerably less optimistic about Florida State’s season outlook. ESPN currently projects the Seminoles to finish approximately 5.7-6.4 and gives them a 52.6% chance of reaching six wins. Their projected chance of winning the ACC sits at just 0.4%, while their College Football Playoff probability is 1.4%.
Florida State will have an immediate opportunity to change those projections Saturday when it travels to Tuscaloosa to face Alabama.
The Crimson Tide enter Week 3 ranked No. 7 nationally in FPI with a 23.2 rating, creating a significant gap between the two teams in ESPN’s model.
For Mike Norvell and the Seminoles, a road upset would provide both a résumé-changing victory and their strongest opportunity yet to reverse the downward trend in ESPN’s early-season projections.
Follow us @FSUWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida State news, notes, and opinions.
This article originally appeared on FSU Wire: Where does FSU land in the latest ESPN FPI following its Week 3 bye?
