Solid #29

Florida State

ACC · 2026 preseason baseline

Projection

67.2

SP+ preseason

+9.1

Returning prod.

58%

Recruiting

83%

Coach signal

1

2026 season · live grade · as of 2026-09-08

The 2026 season, so far.

D FloorC

On the projection, so far.

Current SP+ +6.9 · SP+ rank #44 · updates weekly in season

Projection (frozen)

67.2

Playing like

59.9

Δ

−7.3

Δ grade

D

The live grade measures current in-season SP+ (Bill Connelly, via CFBD) against Florida State's frozen August projection of 67.2 — the same number that set the 2026 tier. Same mapping (score = 50 + SP+ × (50/35)) and the same A–F Δ bands as the 2025 grade below. It recomputes each week as SP+ updates; the projection and tier do not. Early in the season, in-season SP+ still leans heavily on its preseason priors, so most live grades start near C and drift as results accumulate.

2026 portal cycle

Bottom of the cycle by talent-weighted net flow.

−3.69z

talent-weighted z-score

applied: −0.74 pts

Top gains

  • 4★ RBQuintrevion Wisner from Texas
  • 4★ OTXavier Chaplin from Auburn
  • 4★ LBMikai Gbayor from North Carolina

Top losses

  • 4★ WRLawayne McCoy to Louisville
  • 4★ CBJa'Bril Rawls
  • 4★ SAshlynd Barker

Portal moves are weighted by recruiting stars, position (QB and skill positions weighted higher), and eligibility. Withdrawn entrants are excluded. The z-score is normalized across teams appearing in the 2026 portal cycle. See the full portal leaderboard →

2025 season · final grade

The 2025 season, graded.

C FloorC

On the projection.

Realized SP+ +7.2 · SP+ rank #41

Projection

62.4

Realized

60.3

Δ

−2.1

Δ grade

C

Floor SECONDARY

C

Projection vs realized

Realized 60.3 Projection 62.4

The yellow tick is Florida State's August 13, 2025 preseason SP+ rating (+8.7) — the last preseason release before Week 1, from Bill Connelly / ESPN. The dark bar is the final 2025 SP+ (Connelly, post-championship). Both mapped to the 0–100 scale by score = 50 + SP+ × (50/35), clamped [1, 99]. The gap between them is Δ: −2.1. Δ banded A through F gives the letter grade.

What the grade means

A C means Florida State finished within a narrow band of the projection (Δ −2.1, band −6 to +8). The season the projection described.

Floor grade: C · secondary lens · 3% of downside headroom used. Δ divided by the room Florida State had to fall from projection 62.4 toward 0. A team at projection 62.4 had 62.4 points of downside room; a proj-90 team would have had 90.

The letter grade always records the same relationship: realized minus projection, banded A through F. A team can sit in the Elite tier and still receive a D. LSU in 2025 is that case.

Read the methodology →

Offense (2025)

29.3

SP+ offensive rating

Defense (2025)

21.2

SP+ defensive rating (lower = better)

Nat'l SP+ rank

#41

Final 2025 SP+ ranking

2025 portal cycle (context)

Inside a standard deviation of zero.

−0.99z

talent-weighted z-score

Top gains

  • 4★ EDGEJames Williams from Nebraska
  • 4★ CBJerry Wilson from Houston
  • 4★ WRSquirrel White from Tennessee

Top losses

  • 4★ QBLuke Kromenhoek to Mississippi State
  • 4★ EDGEMarvin Jones Jr. to Oklahoma
  • 4★ EDGEPatrick Payton to LSU

Portal moves are weighted by recruiting stars, position (QB and skill positions weighted higher), and eligibility. Withdrawn entrants are excluded. The z-score is normalized across teams appearing in the 2025 portal cycle (context).

Returning production (2025): 13% of prior-year PPA back on the field (Bill Connelly's percentPPA metric via CFBD). This is a narrative reference — the 2025 grade itself is Δ vs preseason SP+ only.