Noles News: FSU favored by 17.5 points over Syracuse

Recruiting

Florida State Seminoles football 2024 commitments

QUARTERBACK: 4 star Luke Kromenhoek (GA)

RUNNING BACK: 4 star Kam Davis (GA)

RUNNING BACK: 4 star Micahi Danzy (FL)

WIDE RECEIVER: 4 star Camdon Frier (FL)

WIDE RECEIVER: 4 star Lawayne McCoy (FL)

WIDE RECEIVER: 4 star BJ Gibson (GA)

WIDE RECEIVER: 4 star Elijah Moore (MD)

TIGHT END: 5 star Landen Thomas (GA)

OFFENSIVE LINEMAN: 4 star Jonathan Daniels (FL)

OFFENSIVE LINEMAN: 3 star Tye Hylton (FL)

OFFENSIVE LINEMAN: 4 star Manasse Itete (CA)

OFFENSIVE LINEMAN: 3 star Jayden Todd (GA)

DEFENSIVE LINEMAN: 4 star DD Holmes (DC)

DEFENSIVE LINEMAN: 3 star Jamorie Flagg (FL)

LINEBACKER: 3 star Jayden Parrish (FL)

LINEBACKER: 3 star Timir Hickman-Collins (SC)

DEFENSIVE BACK: 5 star KJ Bolden (GA)

DEFENSIVE BACK: 5 star Charles Lester III (FL)

DEFENSIVE BACK: 4 star Ricky Knight III (FL)

DEFENSIVE BACK: 3 star CJ Heard (GA)

KICKER: 3 star Jake Weinberg (FL)

Football

After its 39-17 win over the Virginia Tech Hokies this past weekend, Florida State moved to No. 4 in both the AP Top 25 and USA Today Coaches poll — it’s the Seminoles’ first move up in the rankings after a two-week slide from No. 3.

FSU now has the third-best odds to win the national championship (+800) behind Michigan (+340) and Georgia (+260), according to DraftKings.

Full AP Top 25: Week 7

1. Georgia Bulldogs (6-0)
2. Michigan Wolverines (6-0)
3. Ohio State Buckeyes (5-0)
4. Florida State Seminoles (5-0)
5. Oklahoma Sooners (6-0)
6. Penn State Nittany Lions (5-0)
7. Washington Huskies (5-0)
8. Oregon Ducks (5-0)
9. Texas Longhorns (5-1)
10. USC Trojans (6-0)
11. Alabama Crimson Tide (5-1)
12. North Carolina Tar Heels (5-0)
13. Ole Miss Rebels (5-1)
14. Louisville Cardinals (6-0)
15. Oregon State Beavers (5-1)
16. Utah Utes (4-1)
17. Duke Blue Devils (4-1)
18. UCLA Bruins (4-1)
19. Washington State Cougars (4-1)
20. Tennessee Volunteers (4-1)
21. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (5-2)
22. LSU Tigers (4-2)
23. Kansas Jayhawks (5-1)
24. Kentucky Wildcats (5-1)
25. Miami Hurricanes (4-1)

Full USA Today Coaches Poll: Week 7

1. Georgia Bulldogs (6-0)
2. Michigan Wolverines (6-0)
3. Ohio State Buckeyes (5-0)
4. Florida State Seminoles (5-0)
5. Penn State Nittany Lions (5-0)
6. Washington Huskies (5-0)
7. Oklahoma Sooners (6-0)
8. Oregon Ducks (5-0)
9. USC Trojans (6-0)
10. Alabama Crimson Tide (5-1)
11. Texas Longhorns (5-1)
12. North Carolina Tar Heels (5-0)
13. Ole Miss Rebels (5-1)
14. Oregon State Beavers (5-1)
15. Louisville Cardinals (6-0)
16. Utah Utes (4-1)
17. Tennessee Volunteers (4-1)
18. Duke Blue Devils (4-1)
19. Washington State Cougars (4-1)
20. LSU Tigers (4-2)
21. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (5-2)
22. UCLA Bruins (4-1)
23. Kentucky Wildcats (5-1)
24. Kansas Jayhawks (5-1)
25. Missouri Tigers (5-1)

Also according to DraftKings, Florida State has opened as a 17.5-point favorite over the Syracuse Orange (4-2, 0-2 ACC), a matchup recently announced as a 12 p.m. kickoff on ABC — Florida State is currently on a three-game win streak against Syracuse and leads the all-time series 13-2, with the Orange’s only wins coming in 1966 and 2018.

Some major news regarding the Florida State roster, with wide receiver Winston Wright Jr. having been removed as of Sunday.

Soccer

No. 2 FSU women’s soccer (10-0-1, 5-0-1 ACC) added a blowout win to its 2023 resume, netting nine goals against Boston College to continue its unbeaten campaign.

From our Prince Akeem Joeffer:

Florida State is an elite team. They did what elite teams should do against a team that only has three wins. Nevertheless, it is always great to score six goals especially when so many different goal scorers get a chance to crack the score sheet. This game could be a confidence builder for several players.

The experimentation with formations continued today. It is likely that FSU will continue to change it’s shape at different times. This will be partly to counter what the opponent is doing and partly because the Noles have such versatility on the roster that they are able to do many different things with formations.

FSU was called for offside five times in the first half (it seemed like more). However, the Noles cleaned that up a bit as they were only whistled for two in the second half.

FSU hosted several recruits this weekend (I counted four). This was a great game to have recruits see.

The schedule toughens up now as the Seminoles will face #11 Notre Dame, Pitt (who should be ranked) and #22 Duke in the next three games. However, if the Noles continue to play to this standard they will be well positioned to get positive results in all of those contests.

All Sports

Florida State women’s volleyball came out on top against the NC State Wolfpack on Sunday for the Seminoles’ third-straight win:

Junior outside hitter Audrey Koenig continued her torrid stretch of play, recording 20 kills, a .576 hitting percentage and 15 digs in the win. It marked Koenig’s fourth career 20-kill match and her third of the season, as well as her fifth consecutive double-double.

The Wolfpack (13-4, 3-3) had no consistent answers for Koenig, who fittingly ended the match in the fifth set on a cross-court kill. She had four kills in nine attempts in the decisive fifth set.

The Seminoles (12-6, 6-0) have won three consecutive five-set matches and are 3-1 this season in five-setters. FSU defeated Miami on the road on Wednesday in five as well as Duke at home last Sunday.

The win gives FSU its first 6-0 start to the ACC season since 2015 and is just the fourth time in program history it has started 6-0 in ACC play.

No. 10 Florida State women’s golf is set to take part in the Ruth’s Chris Tar Heel Invitational on the Foothills and Lakes courses at the Governors Club in Chapel Hill, North Carolina:

The Seminoles will compete as one of five ACC programs in the 14-team event Oct. 9-10. The tournament is the final event of the fall season for Florida State, which finished in fifth place at the Schooner Fall Classic, its last time on the course.

Florida State has earned a pair of top-seven finishes in its first two matches with its fifth place finish at the Schooner Fall Invitational, and a seventh place finish at the season-opening ANNIKA Intercollegiate.

“This has been a really good fall for our team because each of our players has learned a lot about themselves and their games in our first two events,” said Head Coach Amy Bond. “That was our main goal this fall – learning about ourselves. Playing in the Tar Heel will give our players more experience and will allow them to know exactly what they must work on between now and February.”

All-Americans Charlotte Heath and Lottie Woad have been Florida State’s leaders through its first two events with stroke averages of 70.33 and 68.50, respectively. Heath has carded five of her six rounds at par or better, while Woad has scored each of her six rounds at below par. Both standout players carded season-low scores of 66 in the second round of the Schooner and have finished with under par tournament scores in the first two events.

Florida State is set to play with a familiar lineup consisting of Heath and Woad, senior Alice Hodge, junior Kaylah Williams, and sophomore Katherine Cook.

Hodge enters the Tar Heel playing great golf as she carded scores of 69-69 in the second and third rounds of the Schooner. She finished in a tie for 28th place in the individual standings of the event. She enters the final match of the fall averaging a career-low of 72.67 strokes in six rounds. Hodge has earned five of her six scores at par or better.

Florida State competes against a strong 14-team field, which includes No. 9 Auburn, the No. 10 Seminoles, No. 12 Baylor, and No. 24 Florida along with Campbell, Kentucky, Miami, Michigan, Michigan State, North Carolina, NC State, Rollins College, Tennessee, and Virginia Tech.