In This Story
Florida State Seminoles
Sep 7, 2025 3:49 PM EDT
The Florida State Seminoles entered the 2025 college football season as a team with some of the most uncertainty surrounding them in the country. After finishing with a 2-10 record last year, head coach Mike Norvell and Florida State seemed to be on a downward spiral. ESPN’s Paul Finebaum was one of many critics of the Seminoles before the season.
However, after Florida State pulled off a massive upset in Week 1, taking down Kalen DeBoer and the Alabama Crimson Tide, the feelings of college football experts, including Finebaum, have changed.
On Sunday, Finebaum made an appearance on SportsCenter to discuss the day of college football on Saturday and made an energetic claim about Florida State.
ESPN analyst Paul Finebaum
ESPN analyst Paul Finebaum before the SEC Championship game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. — Source: © Brett Davis-Imagn Images
“I’m in,” Finebaum said. “Florida State is back, mark it down right here. Sell all your stock in everything else. They have a long way to go, but I think Mike Norvell re-stocked his roster and, they are looking legitimate. They do have a couple of big games ahead, though.”
After beating Alabama last weekend, Florida State blew out East Texas A&M on Saturday, 77-3. The Seminoles scored a touchdown on all of their first 10 drives during the game against an inferior opponent.
Quarterback Tommy Castellanos was 8-of-11 passing for 237 yards and three touchdowns before being taken out with his team up big. In total, the Seminoles threw six touchdown passes, which marked their most in a game since 2011.
Florida State was not ranked in the preseason AP Top 25, but after its 2-0 start to the season, it is now No. 10. With this top-10 ranking, it will be interesting to see how far the Seminoles go in 2025.
About the Author
Hugh Green