Noles News: FSU favored by two touchdowns over Duke

Recruiting

FSU offered 2026 athlete Kaiden Prothro:

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

Florida State is now riding a 12-game win streak after taking down the Syracuse Orange 41-3 this past weekend, having scored at least 30 points in each of those wins.

With the team now 6-0 (4-0) on the season, Florida State continues to control its own destiny in the race for the College Football Playoff — from our Jordan Silversmith:

Norvell has this team so hyper-focused that they know it is not about simply and solely adding another win in the team’s record column, as it has been during the Seminoles’ rebuild. This year’s possibilities are much greater than beating up on teams in conference play, and that is why even in a 38-point drubbing, the game still needs to be analyzed through the lens of how far this team can go.

In the latest edition of the AP Top 25 and USA Today Coaches Poll, FSU maintained its No. 4 ranking — though are just slightly behind Ohio State in points and could move up with an impressive showing this upcoming weekend.

AP Top 25: Top 10

1. Georgia Bulldogs (7-0)
2. Michigan Wolverines (7-0)
3. Ohio State Buckeyes (6-0)
4. Florida State Seminoles (6-0)
5. Washington Huskies (6-0)
6. Oklahoma Sooners (6-0)
7. Penn State Nittany Lions (6-0)
8. Texas Longhorns (5-1)
9. Oregon Ducks (5-1)
10. North Carolina Tar Heels (6-0)

USA Today Coaches Poll: Top 10

1. Georgia Bulldogs (7-0)
2. Michigan Wolverines (7-0)
3. Ohio State Buckeyes (6-0)
4. Florida State Seminoles (6-0)
5. Washington Huskies (6-0)
6. Penn State Nittany Lions (6-0)
7. Oklahoma Sooners (6-0)
8. Texas Longhorns (5-1)
9. Alabama Crimson Tide (6-1)
10. North Carolina Tar Heels (6-0)

Which team is on deck? Why, that’d be the No. 16 Duke Blue Devils (5-1, 2-0 ACC) who are heading to Tallahassee this weekend seeking their first-ever victory against the Seminoles.

According to DraftKings, FSU is currently favored by 14 over Duke with the over/under set at 49. That game was announced as a 7:30 p.m. kickoff scheduled to be broadcast on ABC.

Top 10 odds to win national title, per DraftKings

1. Georgia Bulldogs (+280)
2. Michigan Wolverines (+280)
3. Florida State Seminoles (+800)
4. Washington Huskies (+800)
5. Ohio State Buckeyes (+800)
6. Penn State Nittany Lions (+1200)
7. Oklahoma Sooners (+1200)
8. Texas Longhorns (+1800)
9. Alabama Crimson Tide (+2000)
10. Oregon Ducks (+2500)

Top 5 odds to win ACC Championship, per DraftKings

1. Florida State Seminoles (-180)
2. North Carolina Tar Heels (+300)
3. Duke Blue Devils (+1200)
4. Louisville Cardinals (+1200)
5. Clemson Tigers (+1400)

Top 5 odds to win Heisman, per DraftKings

1. Michael Penix Jr. (Washington Huskies) - (-140)
2. J.J. McCarthy (Michigan Wolverines) - (+1000)
3. Dillon Gabriel (Oklahoma Sooners) - (+1000)
4. Jordan Travis (Florida State Seminoles) - (+1200)
5. Jayden Daniels (LSU Tigers) - (+1400)

Soccer

No. 1 Florida State soccer continued its impressive 2023 campaign with a win over Notre Dame on Friday, advancing to 11-0-1 (6-0-1 ACC) on the season after beating No. 11 Notre Dame (9-2-3, 4-1-1 ACC) by a 4-1 score:

FSU is now outscoring opponents 27-3 in the second half.

The Seminoles have never lost or been tied at home as the #1 team. The Noles are now 28-0-0 all-time at home as the top-ranked team in the nation.

This victory gives Florida State sole possession of first place in the ACC with 19 points. Notre Dame is second with 16 points while UNC is third with 14 points. However, the Tar Heels have played one less game than the Seminoles and Irish.

This FSU team is really hard to handle. The Seminoles have so much firepower. There are so many dangerous players in the attack. We have discussed that Florida State has a smaller roster with only 19 available field players. Therefore, FSU may not have that much depth from a numbers perspective but they are loaded from a quality perspective. When the Noles go to the bench there isn’t much drop off. This wears teams down and is likely a big factor in FSU’s second half dominance this season.

There are only three games left in the regular season so it is not too early to think about post season positioning. Before the game FSU was ranked sixth in the RPI. After dispatching no. 7 Notre Dame the Noles should rise. FSU will play Pitt (#21 RPI), Duke (#34) and NC State (#104) to end the season. Florida State will likely finish in the top 2 in the ACC which will earn them a bye in the ACC Tournament. Additionally they will likely play quality teams in the ACC Tourney which will further burnish the RPI ranking. Simply put, while we have more soccer to be played, the Noles are well positioned for another #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Basketball

Baseball

Softball

All Sports

Florida State volleyball bounced back from a loss to No. 11 Georgia Tech with another win in ACC play, advancing the team to 7-1 on the season in conference matchups (13-7 overall):

The Seminoles recorded a .460 hitting percentage against the Tigers (12-8, 3-5), their second-best hitting performance of the season and their highest in ACC play.

The middle attack was the starting point on Sunday, as junior middle blocker Khori Louis had 12 kills in 16 swings with a .688 hitting percentage. Junior middle blocker Kiari Robey added eight kills with a .571 hitting percentage.

Junior outside hitter Audrey Koenig had another double-digit kill performance with 10 of her own along with six digs and a .500 hitting percentage.

Junior right-side hitter Skye Ekes was also efficient with five kills in eight attacks, while fellow right-side Sydney Conley had four kills in eight attacks.

Freshman setter Kenna Phelan led FSU with 18 assists while graduate Jelli Draskovic added 15. Draskovic led FSU with nine digs and freshman libero Kyleene Filimaua had eight.

Florida State’s cross country teams competed at the Nuttycombe Invitational in Madison, Wisconsin:

For the second straight meet, David Mullarkey turned in the top time for the 19th-ranked Seminoles, crossing the finish in 14th place at 23:43.5, which was his best 8k.

Matthew Neill followed (24:27.5) and placed 118th, and Ahmed Ibrahim (24:32.0) was 128th. Zach Leachman (24:47.7) was 164th and Cooper Schroeder clocked 25:06.1 (209th) rounded out the scoring five runners.

“It was a tough day for our guys,” FSU head men’s coach Bob Braman said. “David was brilliant again, and Matt ran tough as well. But as a whole, we didn’t handle the conditions well. Abdirizak Ibrahim was a little banged up and we couldn’t risk racing him on a muddy course. It’s tough to lose a two-time cross country All-American and still finished where we did in a meet of this caliber.”

In a field that featured 31 teams that were ranked or received votes, the Seminoles placed 28th (621), securing a win over No. 27 NC State (677).

Racing in a field that contained 250 student-athletes, Alyson Churchill led the Noles in the women’s 6k, crossing the line in 31st place with a time of 20:34.8.

Caitlyn Wilkey followed at 21:34.1 (151st) and Sydney Nowicki was the third Nole to cross the line at 21:48.4 (175th). Bieke Schipperen followed at 21:54.8 (181st) and Anna Sentner was the fifth FSU scorer at 22:00.4 (193rd).

FSU placed 30th (725) in a loaded field that featured 25 teams either ranked or receiving votes.

The Seminoles also raced in the Crimson Classic at the Harry Pritchett Running Course in Tuscaloosa, Alabama — the men nished ninth with a total of 256. In the women’s 6k, Lauren Bing led the Noles at 21:41.5 (79th), followed by Dani Thompson at 21:56.1 (96th), Ana Povich at 22:01.6 (103rd), Annika Pfaff at 22:29.0 (133rd) and Rachel Wheatly at 23:07.6 (172nd).

Four Florida State University faculty members have received an NSF Grant funding research around understanding taste:

Distinguished Research Professor of Mathematics Richard Bertram, who also holds appointments in FSU’s Institute for Molecular Biophysics and Program in Neuroscience, will lead the project, funded by a $430,000 grant, to uncover new patterns in the neural codes that communicate our sense of taste using unique mathematical methods.

Bertram, along with Associate Professor Martin Bauer and Assistant Professor Tom Needham in the Department of Mathematics and Assistant Professor Roberto Vincis in the Department of Biological Science and Program in Neuroscience at FSU, will leverage recently developed tools from mathematics and network science to uncover patterns of electrical activity of neurons in the brain that code information about the foods we eat.

Using newly developed mathematical techniques, researchers hope to better understand how the brain senses taste, and these techniques can be used in many other areas of neuroscience where large data sets on human brain functions often manifest.

“The brain is made up of billions of tiny cells called neurons,” Vincis said. “These neurons communicate through electrical signals to share and process information about the world around us, enabling us to navigate our environment, to shape our behaviors, and to create lasting memories. What we’re trying to understand is the patterns of these electrical signals (i.e., the neural code) that explain sweet and sour, cold and hot, good and bad flavors in the brain, and finally drive our eating choices.”

“We’re applying new math tools that can extract these patterns not typically showcased by traditional methods,” Needham continued.