Noles News: Should FSU have been ranked higher in College Football Playoff?

Recruiting

For all things recruiting head on over to the Florida State football recruiting thread, where you can catch up on the latest news and pick the brain of our recruiting staff.

Class of 2023 football commits

QUARTERBACK: 4 star Brock Glenn (TN)

RUNNING BACK: 4 star Samuel Singleton Jr. (FL)

WIDE RECEIVER: 5 star Hykeem Williams (FL)

WIDE RECEIVER: 3 star Darren “Goldie” Lawrence (FL)

WIDE RECEIVER: 4 star Vandrevius Jacobs (FL)

OFFENSIVE LINEMAN: 4 star Lucas Simmons (FL)

DEFENSIVE END: 4 star Lamont “Boots” Green, Jr. (FL)

DEFENSIVE END: 3 star JUCO Jaden Jones (AL)

DEFENSIVE LINEMAN: 3 star Tavion Gadson (GA)

DEFENSIVE LINEMAN: 4 star Keldric Faulk (AL)

DEFENSIVE LINEMAN: 4 star Keith Sampson, Jr. (NC)

LINEBACKER: 4 star Blake Nichelson (CA)

LINEBACKER: 3 star DeMarco Ward (GA)

DEFENSIVE BACK/ATHLETE: 3 star Quindarrius Jones (MS)

DEFENSIVE BACK: 3 star Ja’Bril Rawls (FL)

DEFENSIVE BACK: 3 star Kenton “KJ” Kirkland (FL)

Transfer portal additions

RUNNING BACK: Caziah Holmes (Penn State)

Football

Florida State football wrapped up the regular season with its best ranking since 2016 — and with a ranking for the first time since 2016 — getting slotted at No. 13 in the latest edition of the College Football Playoff.

FSU sitting just outside the top 12 means it's likely to get left out of a New Year’s Six Bowl (Utah and Kansas State would both have to lose and the Cotton Bowl committee would have to select the Seminoles over Penn State and Washington, both of whom have two losses and are idle this weekend) but should still be in a position to get one of the higher tier bowl bids when invites are handed out. We went over the latest projections here, which are narrowing in on destinations.

FSU removed freshman defensive back Sam McCall from its roster on Tuesday night, the latest in a will-he-or-won’t-he leave scenario that included a same day announcement of transfer and intention to remain earlier this month.

The ACC announced its all-conference teams on Tuesday, with FSU placing 15 amongst the first-team, second-team, third-team, and honorable mentions. Offensive lineman Dillan Gibbons, safety Jammie Robinson and defensive end Jared Verse made the first-team, quarterback Jordan Travis, running back Trey Benson, wide receiver Johnny Wilson and offensive lineman Robert Scott Jr. were placed on the All-ACC Second Team, offensive lineman D’Mitri Emmanuel earned a Third-Team placement, and running back Treshaun Ward, offensive lineman Maurice Smith, defensive linemen Fabian Lovett and Robert Cooper, linebacker Tatum Bethune and wide receiver Mycah Pittman earned honorable mention nods.

Benson, who was just a few votes away from being a first-team selection, came alive during the final five-game stretch of Florida State’s season — Ben Meyerson takes a look at how the running back became the latest in a line of star running backs to appear in a Seminoles uniform.

Gibbons, meanwhile, is one of three finalists for the Wuerffel Trophy after being named the 2022 Jim Tatum Award winner Monday evening.

On the latest Seminole Wrap, the boys break down FSU’s win over Florida, talk bowl game possibilities and give takes on what this season could mean for the future of the program.

Basketball

FSU men’s basketball is set to face off against No. 5 Purdue today in the ACC vs. Big 10 Challenge at 7:15 on Wednesday from the Donald L. Tucker Center in Tallahassee — the Boilermakers are coming off consecutive double-digit wins vs. No. 14 Gonzaga and No. 17 Duke and are favored by 14 points over the Seminoles.

Soccer

Florida State Seminoles soccer (17-2-3), set for a College Cup showdown vs. the North Carolina Tar Heels on Friday, earned four selections to the All-Atlantic Region Team — Jenna Nighswonger (first-team), Cristina Roque (first-team), Jody Brown (first-team) and Clara Robbins (second-team).

All Sports

From FSU:

Researchers in Florida State University’s College of Social Sciences and Public Policy received a grant from the National Institutes of Health for more than $400,000 to study the health effects of psychological resiliency.

The project builds on previous collaborative research by Carr and Taylor that shows resilience is four to 10 times more beneficial to health outcomes than other psychological resources such as sense of control and optimism.

They hypothesize that people with high levels of psychological resilience tend to handle stressful experiences more effectively, decreasing physical and mental health consequences over time.