FSU football can only go as far as DJ Uiagalelei can take em
On Wednesday morning, USA Today released its Way-Too-Early Top 25 teams, and FSU football was ranked No. 15 following the post-spring season.
Is it too low? Is it too high? It's neither. FSU is right where it needs to be.
If the College Football Playoff were based on USA Today's rankings, the Seminoles would be three spots behind as the playoff expanded to 12.
It might not be a bad thing to be a top-15 team. The expectations remain high and have the standard. Some can say FSU could be a sleeper and don't expect FSU to repeat what it did last season, but the Seminoles can only move up between now and Week 0 against Georgia Tech.
There are still questions going into the 2024 season, and they're mainly about the quarterback position. With Jordan Travis's departure, FSU's attempt to make the playoffs rests on DJ Uiagalelei's shoulders.
Uiagalelei looks the part in stature and has the skillsets, but we have yet to see the Oregon State transfer turn the corner production-wise. When he was a Beaver, he threw 2,638 yards and 21 touchdowns, which is his career best. He also completed 57.1 of his passes and had an 81.0 QB rating. They are not terrible numbers, but they are not great either.
Travis was on pace for at least a 3,500-yard season before he suffered an injury in the Nov. 18 game against North Alabama. That's all it took for the CFP committee to kick FSU out of the final four despite their undefeated record and winning the ACC title.
This puts more pressure on Uiagalelei if he is not up to par. The committee cares about styles of play, especially quarterback play. Even with an expanded playoff bracket, FSU's playoff intention could decide if Uiagalelei is up to par. Like USA Today said, FSU coach Mike Norvell must unlock Uiagalelei's potential.
Peter Holland Jr. covers Florida State athletics for Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at PHolland@Gannett.com or on X @_Da_pistol.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FSU football's shot at CFP depends on DJ Uiagalelei
