# 2023 Florida State Seminoles football team

The 2023 Florida State Seminoles football team represented Florida State University in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) during the 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Seminoles were led by Mike Norvell, in his fourth year as their head coach. The Seminoles played home games at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee, Florida; the team drew an average home attendance of 78,711 in 2023, the 15th highest in college football
Looking to build on the success of the 2022 season, Florida State started strong with a win against LSU. The Seminoles remained undefeated during the regular season; however, during the game against North Alabama, senior quarterback Jordan Travis suffered a season-ending injury, marking the end of his college football career. Florida State went on to win the ACC Championship Game against Louisville. Travis was named ACC Offensive Player of the Year and ACC Player of the Year while Norvell was named ACC Coach of the Year.
Despite winning the ACC title and finishing 13–0, Florida State was ranked No. 5 in the final College Football Playoff (CFP) rankings, which made them the first undefeated Power Five conference team not selected for the playoff (contested since the 2014 FBS season), with the Southeastern Conference (SEC) champions Alabama and Big 12 Conference champions Texas, both with 12–1 records, selected ahead of the undefeated Seminoles. The CFP selection committee stated Florida State was left out of the playoffs because of the season-ending injury to Travis. The committee factors player availability into its selections—committee chairman Boo Corrigan said Florida State was "a different team" without Travis. Following this exclusion, the university’s board of trustees initiated legal action against the ACC, challenging the conference’s Grant of Rights and its withdrawal fee (a penalty of $130 million, should a school leave the conference).
Florida State was instead invited to the Orange Bowl against Georgia, where they were defeated by the Bulldogs in the biggest loss in bowl history, following multiple opt-outs and transfers. Defensive end Jared Verse was later selected in the first round of the NFL Draft along with nine other Seminoles selected in the draft, while three others signed as undrafted free agents.

## Schedule

The 2023 season was the conference's first season since 2004 that its scheduling format included just one division.
| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 3 | 7:30 p.m. | vs. No. 5 LSU* | No. 8 | Camping World StadiumOrlando, FL (Camping World Kickoff) | ABC | W 45–24 | 65,429 |
| September 9 | 8:30 p.m. | Southern Miss* | No. 4 | Doak Campbell StadiumTallahassee, FL | ACCN | W 66–13 | 74,467 |
| September 16 | 12:00 p.m. | at Boston College | No. 3 | Alumni StadiumChestnut Hill, MA | ABC | W 31–29 | 41,383 |
| September 23 | 12:00 p.m. | at Clemson | No. 4 | Memorial StadiumClemson, SC (rivalry) | ABC | W 31–24 $^{OT}$ | 81,500 |
| October 7 | 3:30 p.m. | Virginia Tech | No. 5 | Doak Campbell StadiumTallahassee, FL | ABC | W 39–17 | 79,560 |
| October 14 | 12:00 p.m. | Syracuse | No. 4 | Doak Campbell StadiumTallahassee, FL | ABC | W 41–3 | 79,560 |
| October 21 | 7:30 p.m. | No. 16 Duke | No. 4 | Doak Campbell StadiumTallahassee, FL | ABC | W 38–20 | 79,560 |
| October 28 | 12:00 p.m. | at Wake Forest | No. 4 | Allegacy Federal Credit Union StadiumWinston-Salem, NC | ABC | W 41–16 | 31,288 |
| November 4 | 3:30 p.m. | at Pittsburgh | No. 4 | Acrisure StadiumPittsburgh, PA | ESPN | W 24–7 | 57,557 |
| November 11 | 3:30 p.m. | Miami (FL) | No. 4 | Doak Campbell StadiumTallahassee, FL (rivalry) | ABC | W 27–20 | 79,560 |
| November 18 | 6:30 p.m. | North Alabama* | No. 4 | Doak Campbell StadiumTallahassee, FL | The CW | W 58–13 | 79,560 |
| November 25 | 7:00 p.m. | at Florida* | No. 5 | Ben Hill Griffin StadiumGainesville, FL (rivalry) | ESPN | W 24–15 | 90,341 |
| December 2 | 8:00 p.m. | vs. No. 14 Louisville | No. 4 | Bank of America StadiumCharlotte, NC (ACC Championship Game) | ABC | W 16–6 | 62,314 |
| December 30 | 4:00 p.m. | vs. No. 6 Georgia* | No. 5 | Hard Rock StadiumMiami Gardens, FL (Orange Bowl) | ESPN | L 3–63 | 63,324 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll (and CFP Rankings, after October 31) – Released prior to gameAll times are in Eastern time |||||||||

## Awards
### Watchlists

| Award | Player |
| Dodd Trophy | Mike Norvell |
| Paul "Bear" Bryant Award | Mike Norvell |
| Broyles Award | Adam Fuller |
| Lott Trophy | Jared Verse |
| Maxwell Award | Jordan Travis Trey Benson Keon Coleman |
| Outland Trophy | Jeremiah Byers |
| Bronko Nagurski Trophy | Jared Verse Fentrell Cypress II |
| Ray Guy Award | Alex Mastromanno |
| Paul Hornung Award | Trey Benson |
| Rimington Trophy | Maurice Smith |
| Mackey Award | Jaheim Bell |
| Biletnikoff Award | Johnny Wilson Keon Coleman |
| Davey O’Brien Award | Jordan Travis |
| Doak Walker Award | Trey Benson |
| Butkus Award | Tatum Bethune |
| Jim Thorpe Award | Fentrell Cypress II |
| Walter Camp Award | Jordan Travis Jared Verse |
| Bednarik Award | Jared Verse |
| Lombardi Award | D’Mitri Emmanuel Jared Verse |
| Manning Award | Jordan Travis |
| Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award | Jordan Travis |
| Campbell Trophy | Preston Daniel |
| Wuerffel Trophy | Jared Verse |
| Jason Witten Award | Jordan Travis |
| Preseason All-ACC | Trey Benson Fentrell Cypress II Jared Verse Johnny Wilson |
| Preseason All-American | Jared Verse |
| Midseason All-American | Keon Coleman |
| Senior Bowl | Jaheim Bell Trey Benson Tatum Bethune Dennis Briggs, Jr. Fentrell Cyprus II Kalen DeLoach Akeem Dent Braden Fiske Rinardo Green Fabien Lovett, Sr. Robert Scott, Jr. Jordan Travis Jared Verse Johnny Wilson |

### Honors

Weekly Honors :
| Player | Award |
| Jordan Travis | ACC Quarterback of the Week (Week One) Davey O’Brien National Quarterback of the Week (Week One) Davey O’Brien National Quarterback of the Week (Week Four) ACC Co-Quarterback of the Week (Week Eight) Davey O’Brien National Quarterback of the Week (Week Eight) Manning National Quarterback of the Week (Week Eight) Davey O’Brien National Quarterback of the Week (Week Nine) Manning National Quarterback of the Week (Week Nine) ACC Quarterback of the Week (Week Ten) |
| Keon Coleman | ACC Receiver of the Week (Week One) ACC Specialist of the Week (Week Seven) |
| Bless Harris | ACC Offensive Lineman of the Week (Week One) |
| D’Mitri Emmanuel | ACC Co-Offensive Lineman of the Week (Week Two) |
| Kalen DeLoach | ACC Linebacker of the Week (Week Four) ACC Linebacker of the Week (Week Eleven) |
| Renardo Green | ACC Co-Defensive Back of the Week (Week Four) |
| Trey Benson | ACC Running Back of the Week (Week Six) Doak Walker National Running Back of the Week (Week Six) ACC Running Back of the Week (Week Thirteen) |
| Darius Washington | ACC Offensive Lineman of the Week (Week Six) |
| Deuce Spann | ACC Specialist of the Week (Week Eight) |
| Ja’Khi Douglas | ACC Receiver of the Week (Week Ten) |
| Jared Verse | ACC Defensive Lineman of the Week (Week Thirteen) |
Yearly Honors :
| Player | Award | Ref. |
| Renardo Green | Jim Thorpe Award semifinalist All-ACC Second Team - Defense | |
| Jared Verse | Lombardi Award semifinalist Lott Trophy semifinalist All-ACC First Team - Defense Associated Press Second Team All-American AFCA First Team All-American ESPN Second Team All-American ESPN Top Player of the Year | [43][44][45][46][47] [48] |
| Ryan Fitzgerald | Lou Groza Award semifinalist All-ACC Third Team - Specialists | |
| Jordan Travis | Maxwell Award finalist Davey O’Brien Award semifinalist Walter Camp Award semifinalist Heisman Trophy semifinalist All-ACC First Team - Offense USA Today ACC Player of the Year Associated Press ACC Offensive Player of the Year ACC Player of the Year ACC Offensive Player of the Year ESPN Top Player of the Year | |
| Alex Mastromanno | Ray Guy Award finalist All-ACC Second Team - Specialists CBS Sports Second-Team All American Sporting News Second Team All-American | |
| Keon Coleman | Biletnikoff Award semifinalist All-ACC First Team - Offense/Specialists USA Today ACC Newcomer of the Year Associated Press ACC Newcomer of the Year ESPN Top Player of the Year | |
| D'Mitri Emmanuel, Jeremiah Byers, Casey Roddick, Maurice Smith, Darius Washington, Robert Scott Jr., Keiondre Jones, Bless Harris | Joe Moore Award semifinalists | |
| Adam Fuller | Broyles Award semifinalist | |
| Darius Washington | All-ACC First Team - Offense | |
| D'Mitri Emmanuel | All-ACC First Team - Offense | |
| Kalen DeLoach | All-ACC First Team - Defense ESPN Top Player of the Year | |
| Trey Benson | All-ACC Second Team - Offense ESPN Top Player of the Year | |
| Jaheim Bell | All-ACC Second Team - Offense | |
| Braden Fiske | All-ACC Second Team - Defense Associated Press Third Team All-American | |
| Joshua Farmer | All-ACC Second Team - Defense | |
| Johnny Wilson | All-ACC Third Team - Offense | |
| Tatum Bethune | All-ACC Third Team - Defense | |
| Shyheim Brown | All-ACC Third Team - Defense | |
| Casey Roderick | All-ACC Honorable Mention | |
| Maurice Smith | All-ACC Honorable Mention | |
| Patrick Payton | All-ACC Honorable Mention | |
| D.J. Lundy | All-ACC Honorable Mention | |
| Jarrian Jones | All-ACC Honorable Mention | |
| Fentrell Cypress | All-ACC Honorable Mention | |
| Akeem Dent | All-ACC Honorable Mention | |
| James Rosenberry, Jr. | AFCA First Team All-American | |
| Mike Norvell | ACC Coach of the Year Associated Press ACC Coach of the Year AFCA Regional Coach of the Year Dodd Trophy winner Paul "Bear" Bryant Award winner George Munger Coach of the Year Award finalist Eddie Robinson Award finalist | |
| Patrick Surtain | Defensive Backs Coach of the Year | |
| Tony Tokarz | ACC Quarterback Coach of the Year | |
| Darrick Yray | Player Personnel Director of the Year | |
| Jeff Kupper | Football Operations Director of the Year | |
| Lawrance Toafili | ACC Championship Game MVP | |

## Players drafted into the NFL

| Round | Pick | Player | Position | NFL Club |
| 1 | 19 | Jared Verse | DE | Los Angeles Rams |
| 2 | 33 | Keon Coleman | WR | Buffalo Bills |
| 2 | 39 | Braden Fiske | DT | Los Angeles Rams |
| 2 | 64 | Renardo Green | CB | San Francisco 49ers |
| 3 | 66 | Trey Benson | RB | Arizona Cardinals |
| 3 | 96 | Jarrian Jones | CB | Jacksonville Jaguars |
| 5 | 171 | Jordan Travis | QB | New York Jets |
| 6 | 185 | Johnny Wilson | WR | Philadelphia Eagles |
| 7 | 231 | Jaheim Bell | TE | New England Patriots |
| 7 | 251 | Tatum Bethune | LB | San Francisco 49ers |

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking т = Tied with team above or below ( ) = First-place votes :
| | 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 | Final |
| AP | 8 | 4 (3) | 3 (3) | 4 (1) | 5 (3) | 5 (4) | 4 (1) | 4 (1) | 4 (3) | 4 (3) | 4 (2) | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 6 т |
| Coaches | 8 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 6 |
| CFP | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 5 | Not released |