Football:

• Bleacher Report ranked the top 100 players in college football for 2016, with four of them coming from Florida State. Defensive end DeMarcus Walker (No. 99), offensive tackle Roderick Johnson (No. 67), defensive back Derwin James (No. 16) and running back Dalvin Cook (No. 5) all made the cut. Is there a ‘Nole left out you believe should have been included?
• Jared Shanker of ESPN previewed the 2016 Florida State football team, highlighting three main storylines; How Deondre Francois’ supporting cast will play, the elite FSU defense, and the Heisman trophy candidate Dalvin Cook. Shanker goes on to add that he won’t count out the ‘Noles making it into the College Football Playoff even if it loses to Clemson.
• The guys over at Red Cup Rebellion, SB Nation’s Ole Miss site, broke down the very young offensive line of the Rebels. Will its youth be able to withstand the explosive Florida State defensive line that is arguably one of the best in the nation?
• Randy Smith of the Chattanoogan released his prediction on how the top five of the 2016 Heimsan Trophy voting will turn out. He has FSU running back Dalvin Cook at No. 5.

Cook rushed for 1691 yards last season, and was a second team All-American. By the way, those 1691 yards was a new school record for the Seminoles. Cook also led the nation in yards after contact, 3.2 yards on the ground after first contact by the defense. That's impressive. If Cook remains healthy and the Seminoles have the kind of season they're expected to have, Cook will be making that trip to New York City as a Heisman finalist.

Campus Insiders predicted what they believe the New Years Six bowl games will look like after the AP Polls were released. The site has FSU squaring off against Ohio State as a No. 2 seed in the Fiesta Bowl before facing off against Alabama in the National Championship. Where do you think Florida State will play come December?

Fiesta Bowl Projection: No. 2 Florida State vs. No. 3 Ohio State

Two ships in the night, Jimbo Fisher and Urban Meyer only faced off once while the latter was head coach at the University of Florida (a game handily won by FSU). Now they meet again, only with much greater stakes.

Maybe we're watching a Heisman Trophy winner - J.T. Barrett, Mike Weber, Deondre Francois or Dalvin Cook - push for a national championship. Hard to argue with a semi that features two of the past three national championship programs.

CFP Title Game Projection: No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 2 FSU

The Flora-Bama bar in Perdido Key will be the place to be on January 9, as FSU and Alabama square off for the national championship. All thoughts of these programs entering the fall with question marks under center feel like a distant memory, as they navigated the two most balanced conferences in the land. Enjoy the added wrinkle of Jeremy Pruitt coaching Alabama's defense against a club he knows very intimately - Pruitt was the defensive coordinator for FSU's 2013 national championship team.

Recruiting:

• Four-star offensive tackle target Isaiah Wilson has lost weight, and grown even more since the end of his junior season at Poly Prep (NY.), according to Bleacher Report. The class of 2017 student now stands at 6’8 345 lbs. and will visit Florida State on November 11 for the ‘Noles matchup against Boston College, one of his three official visits currently planned. Besides Florida State, 28 other schools including Alabama, LSU, Michigan, Clemson and USC have extended a scholarship offer to the young star.

Alumni:

• The Ringer listed one “X-Factor” for all 32 NFL teams, with former ‘Noles and current Carolina Panthers receiver Kelvin Benjamin given that distinction.

When Benjamin tore his ACL before the start of last season, it figured that Carolina offense would suffer badly. Instead, they went on to lead the NFL in scoring, with Cam Newton winning the MVP award. The return of a big red zone threat who caught 73 passes for 1,008 yards and nine touchdowns as a rookie in 2014, should make the Panthers offense even more dangerous.