NoleGameday Staff Score Predictions: Florida State Seminoles vs. Charleston Southern Buccaneers

Our staff provides their predictions and analysis as the Seminoles try to snap a six-game losing streak dating back to September.

Sep 2, 2024; Tallahassee, Florida, USA; Florida State Seminoles head coach Mike Norvell before the game against the Boston College Eagles at Doak S. Campbell Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Melina Myers-Imagn Images / Melina Myers-Imagn Images

Florida State needs a win. It's been over 60 days since the Seminoles came away with their lone victory in September and this Saturday will be their best shot until 2025 with the Charleston Southern Buccaneers traveling to Tallahassee. The Buccaneers are somehow on an even longer losing streak than FSU in a matchup featuring the bottom of the FBS and the FCS.

Charleston Southern enters the matchup at 1-10 under second-year head coach Gabe Giardina. The Buccaneers defeated Furman 24-20 on September 7 but haven't won a game since then and went 0-8 in conference play for the first time in program history. The offense is one of the worst in the FCS and the defense doesn't have very many redeeming qualities outside of forcing 18 turnovers.

The Buccaneers are led by quarterback Rob McCoy Jr. and running back Autavius Ison. McCoy has completed 78/132 passes for 819 yards with four touchdowns and seven interceptions while Ison has rushed 159 times for 764 yards and four rushing touchdowns. Sophomore linebacker Steve Zayachkowsky leads the team with 76 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, three sacks, one forced fumble, and one blocked kick.

READ MORE: Former FBS Coach With Ties To Mike Norvell Spotted At Florida State’s Practice

Our staff provides their predictions and analysis as the Seminoles prepare to take on the Buccaneers.

Dustin Lewis (@DustinLewisNG)

I'll keep it relatively short and simple this week. Even though I've gone the opposite way in eight straight predictions, I think Florida State will finally end its drought and pick up a win in the Seminole Heritage game against Charleston Southern. I would seriously be debating which way to lean if the Buccaneers were a middle-of-the-pack FCS team but somehow they have been worse than FSU this season.

Charleston Southern has struggled to move the ball and put points on the board while being a turnover machine on offense. The Buccaneers should be overmatched physically and will be playing in their toughest road environment of the season. That's the main reason I'm rolling with the Seminoles this week.

Plus, I'm wondering if the coaching changes provide any extra fire across Florida State's roster. Now that they've seen the result of this season has cost people jobs, will the Seminoles finally be able to get their act together?

For an ugly game, I'm going with an ugly score.

2024 Season Prediction Record: 7-3

Seminoles 29, Buccaneers 11

Logan Robinson (@LogansTwitty)

I’m sorry but I laughed before writing this knowing it’s a 1-9 and 1-10 team facing each other AND the Seminoles are one of those teams! 2024 has been historical and not in a good way.

Florida State is going to win this game but are they going to cover their -33.5 favored spread? I don’t think so. Charleston Southern is not a great team. FSU has faced some bad teams this season but this team is on another caliber of bad coming into this matchup. I still can’t find any hope in the offense to score over 30 points.

Wild times.

2024 Season Prediction Record: 7-3

Seminoles 26, Buccaneers 6

Austin Veazey (@EasyVeazeyNG)

The Seminoles have yet to score more than 21 points in a game, and they're going against a team that has yet to score more than 24 at the FCS level. Charleston Southern is not a good team, and even if FSU isn't either, they better win this one, just for sanity's sake. Zero chance they cover the spread though.

2024 Season Prediction Record: 6-4

Seminoles 23, Buccaneers 9

Dillon Riera (@13d_riera)

I guess it's somewhat fitting that at the precise moment I sat down to write this score prediction, "When it Rains it Pours" by Luke Combs was the song that started to play on Spotify. The tagline of that song perfectly encapsulates the sentiment surrounding the 2024 Florida State Football season...and then some. The hits keep coming for the 'Noles, and this time it came in the form of three assistants leaving Tallahassee. With some large-scale changes on the horizon for the Seminoles, it comes as no surprise that Mike Norvell is looking to get a head start on the coaching search and salvage what he can before the 2025 season rolls around. In the meantime, FSU still has to find a way to finish the '24 campaign with as much dignity as possible, which means preventing a loss to another FCS opponent, Charleston Southern. 

The Florida State faithful have surely not forgotten about FSU football's first loss to an FCS opponent in the history of the program a short 3 years ago. As someone who was sitting but 10 yards from the Jacksonville State player that crossed the goal line as time expired, the loss to the Gamecocks felt like an all-time low moment in the Florida State program. At the time, Mike Norvell was fighting to have his CLIMB take root, and the shocking loss appeared to spell doom for his tenure in Tallahassee. Despite the early setbacks, Norvell did indeed lead FSU's climb out of that pit of misery, and the 'Noles rattled off two 10-win seasons to accompany FSU's first ACC Championship since 2014. Three years later, however, the 1-9 Seminoles are once again at the bottom, staring back up at a daunting climb ahead of them. And as if fate wasn't cruel enough, there's a non-zero chance that another FCS opponent could derail things altogether. 

As far as football games go, this weekend's matchup between the 1-9 Seminoles and the 1-10 Charleston Southern Buccaneers could perhaps be the worst. On one sideline, you have the Florida State Seminoles, who rank towards the bottom in nearly every major statistic at the FBS level and remain the only Division I football team (at both the FBS and FCS level) to have not scored more than 21 points this season (per College Sports Only). The rushing attack averages fewer than 100 yards per game, and the season leader in passing yards for the 'Noles is still (somehow) DJ Uiagalelei, who has not played a game since September 28th. On the other sideline, you have a 1-10 Charleston Southern program, who — much like the 'Noles — is suffering through a historically poor season. The Buccaneers have struggled with their FCS schedule, recording 9 straight losses heading into Saturday's contest. TLDR: It's the worst the FBS has to offer versus the worst the FCS has to offer in a bottom tier showdown for the ages. 

Let's cut through the red tape and let's stop easing the blows a bit here. Saturday is a must win for Norvell and the Seminoles. The FCS loss early in Norvell's tenure, albeit just as unacceptable and disappointing, can be characterized as a fluke, but what's that old saying? "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me." If FSU suffers a loss at the hands of a 1-10 FCS opponent this weekend (and the second under Mike), things are far worse inside of the program than believed. At this point in the five-year tenure of a coach, one would expect that the talent level between a Florida State program one year removed from the ACC Championship and an FCS program in the midst of a 1-10 season is a wide enough margin to assume victory for the 'Noles before toe even meets leather.

ESPN's Matchup Predictor expects as much, displaying 98% chance of victory in FSU's favor. Regardless of the struggles being experienced, the talent on this roster should outclass the Buccaneers in all respects. That's not a slight towards Charleston Southern. I respect any individual that has found a way to play football at the collegiate level, regardless of division or subdivision. The statement is more so a reflection on the Seminoles. The roster should outclass the Buccaneers with regard to talent because that's what the 'Noles paid for during the off-season. The 'Noles don't just need to win this — they should win this. Full stop. Anything less is nothing short of a complete failure on behalf of the entire program. 

Plus, we aren't even getting the turquoise Heritage uniforms anymore. The least they could do is secure a victory on Homecoming. 

2024 Season Prediction Record: 6-4

Seminoles 24, Buccaneers 10

Tommy Mire (@TommyM3III)

Florida State is hoping for its second win of the 2024 season this weekend against Charleston Southern during Seminole Heritage weekend. While the Bucs are 1-10 on the season, the Seminoles are 1-9 and looking for answers at multiple positions, including quarterback.

Favored by more than 30 points, FSU should secure the victory, but it is hard to predict them to cover the spread given the product put on the field all season. They will also be without two coordinators, a wide receivers coach, and a few key players, so it could turn into a competitive game if the ‘Noles don’t start out fast. Charleston Southern runs an unfamiliar offensive scheme, but I think FSUs defense will hold. Getting points through the air and establishing the run will be key if they want to head home at 2-9 instead of 1-10.

2024 Season Prediction Record: 6-4

Seminoles 37, Buccaneers 10

Kade Kimble (@kadekimble)

A 1-9 Florida State squad taking on a 1-10 FCS program... Nothing can go wrong, right? The Seminoles should earn a second victory of the season while taking down an incredibly inferior opponent, which brings no cause for celebration. At least they'll double their win total!

Chalk Florida State for a season-best performance, which certainly won't be anything for the abysmal program to be proud of.

2024 Season Prediction Record: 7-3

Seminoles 28, Buccaneers 3

Robert Malcom (@kwrobertm)

On Saturday, the nation will see the worst FBS team play the worst FCS team, and while I don't think it will be a blowout by any means, I don't think the game will be super competitive. Neither team has been spectacular offensively as both teams are averaging just under 15 points per game, and defensively both teams have had their ups and downs suffering multiple blowout games this season. 

I would expect the Florida State defense to keep it a low-scoring game, but I also don't see the Seminoles getting things going offensively to the point where it can be considered a blowout. One thing I don't see happening is Florida State covering the 33.5-point spread, as I don't see a scenario where they score that many points, let alone win by so much.

2024 Season Prediction Record: 6-4

Seminoles 27, Buccaneers 10

Jackson Bakich (@jacksonbakich)

Florida State is a much better team. The weaknesses of the Buccaneers squad (subpar passing game, average run game, poor turnover margin) should bode well for the Seminoles. The team from Tallahassee needs this game. If they don’t get it, then God help us all.

2024 Season Prediction Record: 6-4

Seminoles 27, Buccaneers 10

CONSENSUS: Florida State (8-0)

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