As we countdown to kickoff in September, we’re doing a team-by-team opponent preview. This week, we're previewing Syracuse's matchup with Wake Forest on Oct. 14 with our friend Bob Ferrante over at The Osceola.

QB Jordan Travis and DE Jared Verse. For Florida State this one is easy. Travis has developed with every year and is now less of a runner than he is a passer — even though he can use those wheels to elude pressure and buy time to throw.

Verse is an FCS-to-P5 success story and he was only slowed in year 1 by a midseason injury. Both returned to FSU to further develop themselves as NFL prospects but also to help the Seminoles push for an ACC title and perhaps a spot in the College Football Playoff.

The star of the spring was receiver Kentron Poitier, who made the routine grabs as well as the impressive ones, using his basketball background to control his body and go up to high point passes. He caught 14 passes for 283 yards (a 20.2-yard average), so Poitier showed in 2022 he could stretch the field but he could also stretch the reception and yardage totals (maybe doubling both).

Defensive end Patrick Payton was the 2022 ACC’s defensive freshman of the year, recording 31 tackles with five sacks. Payton has added weight to his 6-foot-5 frame to 243 pounds and will benefit from being not just a bookend to Verse but also part of a defensive front that also features tackles like Fabien Lovett and Joshua Farmer as well as transfers Darrell Jackson (Miami) and Braden Fiske (Western Michigan).

The Seminoles haven’t won the ACC or been in the CFP since 2014. When players like Travis, Verse, Lovett, running back Trey Benson, wide receiver Johnny Wilson as well as linebackers Tatum Bethune and Kalen DeLoach come back, it shows a desire to improve their pro outlook but also one where players have bought in to the program’s larger goals.

If FSU navigates a tough September that includes LSU at Orlando in the opener and a road trip to Clemson to close the month, the path could be clear for the Seminoles to challenge for some lofty goals.

What slowed down FSU in 2022 was injuries, which impacted specifically the defensive front and contributed to losses in October against Wake Forest, NC State and Clemson. The Seminoles are deeper than they have been in prior years, but could they overcome injuries to prominent players and still win games?

And what happens, playing out a worst-case scenario, if FSU loses to LSU and Clemson in September? Will the buy in still be there? The floor for the 2023 team isn’t that low, but a 7-5 or 8-4 type of season wouldn’t be a great follow up after a 10-win 2022 season.

Norvell’s motto is “Climb” and the program has done just that, pushing through a 3-6 COVID-shortened season in 2020 (one where a first-year coaching staff lost valuable time in spring practice and the offseason) all the way to recording victories over LSU, Miami, Florida and Oklahoma last fall. FSU has stability on the coaching staff, has worked the transfer portal very well and high school prospects from Florida and Georgia are taking notice.

Norvell and the staff have been all in on the transfer portal since they arrived in December 2019. Landing defensive ends like Jermaine Johnson and Keir Thomas brought the pass rush back to FSU in 2021, and their production helped attract Verse. Most of FSU’s top players are transfers who have returned and the coaches have grabbed the ACC’s top corner in Fentrell Cypress, added three OL (Jeremiah Byers, Casey Roddick and Keondre Jones) and two defensive tackles in Jackson and Fiske.

The offseason reviews of Michigan State transfer receiver Keon Coleman have fueled excitement for what he can bring to FSU. There have been notable losses and the coaches would like to have kept receivers like Mycah Pittman (Utah) and Malik McClain (Penn State) but the transfer portal has helped more than hurt the Seminoles’ roster rebuild.

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