'Stumbling Seminoles' ... FSU Football Falls Slightly In ESPN SP+ Rankings After Week 9 Loss

The Seminoles remain the only one-loss team in the top 100.

Oct 5, 2024; Tallahassee, Florida, USA; Florida State Seminoles head coach Mike Norvell looks on during the second half against the Clemson Tigers at Doak S. Campbell Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Melina Myers-Imagn Images / Melina Myers-Imagn Images

The Florida State Seminoles have surprisingly only moved down four spots in ESPN’s SP+ rankings despite the 1-8 record and the loss to North Carolina at home last week. According to the news company, SP+ is a “tempo and opponent-adjusted measure of college football efficiency … simply a measure of the most sustainable and predictable aspects of football.”

READ MORE: Notre Dame, Marcus Freeman Not Underestimating Struggling Florida State

FSU finds itself ranked #72 after Week 10, falling 42 spots from its Week 1 position. It is the highest-ranked 1-8 team, according to the model.

Florida State is the only one-win team in the top 100 as 1-8 Purdue finds itself taking the 102nd spot. Interestingly, the SP+ model from ESPN’s Bill Connelly has 16 teams with winning records behind the ’Noles on the list. This includes 7-2 Sam Houston State (#99), 6-3 Georgia Southern (#92), and 6-3 Colorado State (#90), among others.

Florida State once again looked awful. They could not stand to play complimentary football, their ground game (on both sides of the ball) could not find success, and third downs were a nightmare to stop defensively. Somehow, however, the SP+ ranking system tends to continue giving FSU the benefit of the doubt.

The Garnet and Gold will once again look to flip the script against the 7-1 Notre Dame Fighting Irish in South Bend, Indiana. Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m. on NBC.

ND comes into the matchup as the 10th-ranked team in the nation, according to the AP Poll. They grab the #8 spot in the latest SP+ model.

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READ MORE: Florida State Releases Nine 'Notes To Know' For Road Game Against Notre Dame

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