Worst-case scenario for the 2024 football season at Florida State

The Florida State University football team enters the 2024 season with renewed optimism and hopes for a season similar to last year.

The Seminoles kick off their ACC campaign on Saturday, August 24th against Georgia Tech in Dublin, Ireland. Excitement is high for the return of college football, as FSU gets an exciting opening game.

With expectations high heading into the season, what happens if the Seminoles suffer a loss to the Yellow Jackets in week one? Would that be a minor hurdle for FSU or could it have a bigger impact on the season?

We've given you our best-case scenario and reasons for optimism. Now it's time to look at the worst-case scenario and the reasons behind it.

BEST-CASE SCENARIOBest-case scenario for Florida State Football: Reasons for optimism for the 2024 season

FSU opens the season with a loss to Georgia Tech and misses the ACC title and CFP

Worst-case scenario for the 2024 season: 7-5/8-4 record, misses the ACC title game and the College Football Playoffs

Let's start with this statement: FSU will likely finish the season with a win and play in a good bowl game in the postseason.

However, expectations have risen under head coach Mike Norvell as the Seminoles look to prove once again that the team is a national title contender. A positive record and a bowl game outside of the playoffs are not necessarily his definition of success.

A Week 1 loss to Georgia Tech in Dublin would derail FSU's start to the season and could put the Seminoles in a difficult position with a conference loss in Week 0. In that scenario, the Seminoles may lose road games to Notre Dame, Miami and SMU or experience a home loss to teams like Clemson or North Carolina.

In this scenario, things are just not going well for the Seminoles. Whether it's issues on offense or general inconsistency on defense, for the season to go this way, a few things probably have to go wrong.

Those conference losses prevented FSU from competing in the ACC title game and the College Football Playoff, and despite a successful season, it was not the year anyone on the staff or team had hoped for.

Reasons for pessimism in the 2024 season

The biggest reason for pessimism is the transition from the old to the new guard. What the Seminoles have shown in fall camp is very encouraging, but what if the training performances of transfer players like DJ Uiagalelei, Malik Benson or Roydell Williams do not translate to the field?

The main reason for the pessimism was simply the team's lack of experience in playing together in high-pressure games and situations.

The offense has a lot of talent, but there are a lot of new faces among the starters in the lineup, and that could lead to miscommunication on the field during game situations. It remains to be seen what the team looks like in an era after Jordan Travis, Keon Coleman, Johnny Wilson and Trey Benson, with those four being influential players and a key part of last season's success.

Defensively, the Seminoles have looked solid during fall practice, but the offense has some similar situations. Many new faces make up the lineup, with FSU using either transfer players or younger players who have developed within the program.

Due to some inexperience in game situations, it may take too long for the defense to find a consistent level of offense, and in a college football season where everything is moving so quickly, that could lead to a worst-case scenario season.

How to watch FSU vs Georgia Tech

Date: Saturday, August 24
Time: 12:00 p.m. ET
Where: Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland
TV: ESPN
Streaming: ESPN+ ($10.99 per month), WatchESPN and the ESPN app (TV provider subscription required), fuboTV (7-day free trial), YouTube TV (2-week free trial), Hulu + Live TV (7-day free trial)