# 2020 Florida State Seminoles football team

The 2020 Florida State Seminoles football team represented Florida State University during the 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Seminoles played their home games at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee, Florida, and competed as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference. They were led by head coach Mike Norvell, in his first season.
The Seminoles finished the season with a losing record for the third consecutive season for the first time since the 1974–1976 seasons and their worst record since 1975.

## Schedule

Florida State had games scheduled against Boise State, Florida, Samford, and West Virginia, which were all canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which resulted in the ACC playing a ten-game conference schedule with one non-conference opponent and reduced stadium capacity. Florida State ended up playing nine games as the result of further cancelations of games against Clemson and Wake Forest. This was the first season since 1957 that the Seminoles did not play Florida.
The Seminoles were picked to finish in seventh place in the ACC, while Marvin Wilson, Hamsah Nasirildeen, Tamorrion Terry and Asante Samuel, Jr. were selected to the preseason All-ACC team.
| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 12 | 4:00 p.m. | Georgia Tech | Doak Campbell StadiumTallahassee, FL | ABC | L 13–16 | 17,538 |
| September 26 | 7:30 p.m. | at No. 12 Miami (FL) | Hard Rock StadiumMiami Gardens, FL (rivalry/College GameDay) | ABC | L 10–52 | 12,806 |
| October 3 | 4:00 p.m. | Jacksonville State* | Doak Campbell StadiumTallahassee, FL | ACCRSN | W 41–24 | 13,589 |
| October 10 | 7:30 p.m. | at No. 5 Notre Dame | Notre Dame StadiumSouth Bend, IN (rivalry) | NBC | L 26–42 | 10,409 |
| October 17 | 7:30 p.m. | No. 5 North Carolina | Doak Campbell StadiumTallahassee, FL | ABC | W 31–28 | 18,016 |
| October 24 | 12:00 p.m. | at Louisville | Cardinal StadiumLouisville, KY | ACCRSN | L 16–48 | 11,465 |
| November 7 | 4:00 p.m. | Pittsburgh | Doak Campbell StadiumTallahassee, FL | ACCN | L 17–41 | 16,568 |
| November 14 | 7:30 p.m. | at NC State | Carter–Finley StadiumRaleigh, NC | ACCN | L 22–38 | 4,032 |
| December 12 | 4:00 p.m. | Duke | Doak Campbell StadiumTallahassee, FL | ACCN | W 56–35 | 14,872 |
| *Non-conference gameRankings from AP PollAll times are in Eastern time ||||||||
    The game between Florida State and Duke was originally scheduled to take place on December 5 at Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham, North Carolina. However, due to COVID-19 management requirements in response to positive tests and subsequent quarantine of individuals within the Florida State program which led to the cancelation of the two prior games, the game was rescheduled for December 12 in Tallahassee.

## Game summaries
### Georgia Tech

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Yellow Jackets | 0 | 0 | 7 | 9 | 16 |
| Seminoles | 10 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 13 |
In Mike Norvell's debut, the Seminoles fell 16–13 to the Yellow Jackets in their fourth-straight season opening loss and the first win for the Yellow Jackets against the Seminoles in Tallahassee since 2009.

### Miami (FL)

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Seminoles | 3 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 10 |
| #12 Hurricanes | 14 | 24 | 0 | 14 | 52 |
On September 19, it was announced that head coach Mike Norvell had tested positive for COVID-19 and would be quarantining as a result. Chris Thomsen, the deputy head coach, handled on-field coaching duties for the game.
The Seminoles fell 52–10 to the Hurricanes to mark their fourth-straight loss in the series and suffering their second largest loss to their rival.

### Jacksonville State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Gamecocks | 14 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 24 |
| Seminoles | 0 | 14 | 20 | 7 | 41 |
The Seminoles overcame an early fourteen-point deficit to defeat the Gamecocks, 41–24, in their lone non-conference game to secure the team's first victory of the season as well as Norvell's first win as head coach.

### Notre Dame

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Seminoles | 17 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 26 |
| #5 Fighting Irish | 14 | 21 | 7 | 0 | 42 |
Prior to the game, Jordan Travis was named the starter at quarterback, making him the third player to start at the position throughout the first four games of the season.
The Seminoles were beaten by the Irish, 42–26, in their first and only meeting as conference foes.

### North Carolina

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #5 Tar Heels | 0 | 7 | 14 | 7 | 28 |
| Seminoles | 7 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 31 |
Entering the game as a double-digit underdog, Florida State built up a twenty-four point halftime lead and survived a second-half rally to defeat the Tar Heels, and alum Mack Brown, by a score of 31–28, giving Mike Norvell his first win over a ranked team as head coach of the Seminoles.

### Louisville

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Seminoles | 7 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 16 |
| Cardinals | 21 | 10 | 7 | 10 | 48 |
The Seminoles were beaten by Louisville, the former school of quarterback Jordan Travis, by a score of 48–16.

### Pittsburgh

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Panthers | 10 | 14 | 7 | 10 | 41 |
| Seminoles | 14 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 17 |
In only their second meeting since Pittsburgh joined the conference, the Seminoles lost to the Panthers by a score of 41–17, in a game that featured three turnovers by the Florida State offense and seven sacks by the Pitt defense.

### NC State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Seminoles | 0 | 3 | 6 | 13 | 22 |
| Wolfpack | 7 | 14 | 14 | 3 | 38 |
Starting their fourth quarterback of the season due to injury, the Seminoles fell to the Wolfpack, led by former Florida State quarterback Bailey Hockman, by a score of 38–22.

### Duke

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Blue Devils | 7 | 14 | 0 | 14 | 35 |
| Seminoles | 28 | 0 | 14 | 14 | 56 |
Playing their first game in nearly a month due to issues pertaining to the pandemic, the Seminoles built up an early lead and survived a comeback attempt to defeat the Blue Devils 56–35 on Senior Day. Jordan Travis broke the school record for rushing yards in a season by a quarterback.

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | Final |
| AP | RV | RV* | RV | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Coaches | — | —* | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| CFP | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | — | — | — | — | — | Not released |

## Watchlists

| Award | Player |
| Lott Trophy | Marvin Wilson |
| Bednarik Award | Marvin Wilson Hamsah Nasirildeen |
| Doak Walker Award | Jashaun Corbin |
| Biletnikoff Award | Tamorrion Terry |
| Thorpe Award | Hamsah Nasirildeen |
| Outland Trophy | Marvin Wilson |
| Bronko Nagurski Trophy | Marvin Wilson Hamsah Nasirildeen |
| Wuerffel Trophy | Jaiden Lars-Woodbey |
| Maxwell Award | Marvin Wilson Tamorrion Terry |
| Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award | James Blackman |

## Honors

Weekly awards :
| Player | Award | Week Awarded |
| Asante Samuel Jr. | ACC Defensive Back of the Week | Week 1 |
| Marvin Wilson | ACC Specialist of the Week | Week 1 |
| Lawrance Toafili | ACC Rookie of the Week | Week 4 |
| Mike Norvell | Dodd Trophy Coach of the Week | Week 6 |
| Hamsah Nasirildeen | ACC Defensive Back of the Week | Week 14 |
Yearly awards :
| Player | Award |
| Asante Samuel Jr. | All-ACC First Team |
| Marvin Wilson | All-ACC Second Team |
| Robert Scott | Freshman All-American |

## Players drafted into the NFL

| Round | Pick | Player | Position | NFL Club |
| 2 | 47 | Asante Samuel Jr. | CB | Los Angeles Chargers |
| 4 | 134 | Janarius Robinson | DE | Minnesota Vikings |
| 4 | 144 | Joshua Kaindoh | DE | Kansas City Chiefs |
| 6 | 186 | Hamsah Nasirildeen | S | New York Jets |