Florida State Seminoles football is back — and so is the Line of Scrimmage podcast.

Each week, we’ll be speaking with members of the beat that covers FSU’s upcoming opponent, getting the nitty gritty details from those who know those teams best.

Up first — a conversation with with Zachary Junda of And the Valley Shook, who helped us break down the LSU Tigers last season ahead of the first matchup in the series as well as an inside look at the Tigers’ recruiting class earlier this year.

What does LSU bring to the table on offense, defense and as a whole? Is the hype surrounding the Tigers real? Can Florida State pull off a second straight win?

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The countdown to the season opener for the Florida State Seminoles against the LSU Tigers is just days away. It’s a highly anticipated game to kickoff a highly anticipated season.

The Seminole Wrap crew — Brian Pellerin, Jon Marchant and Ben Meyerson — released their 2023 season and LSU preview episode earlier this week.

But with so much excitement for the year, one episode wasn’t quite enough.

So we brought in the DraftKings Network’s Mike Golic Jr. to talk Florida State’s climb back to the national title conversation, Mike Norvell’s ascension through the coaching ranks and the Noles’ competition for the ACC crown.

Four games into Mike Norvell’s second season at the helm, Florida State was at what felt like rock bottom. The Noles had just lost to the Louisville Cardinals to open the year with an 0-4 record including the shocking Week 2 loss to Jacksonville State.

Golic remembers calling that game against the Cardinals for ESPN and getting to attend practice the Friday before. Despite the 0-3 start to that point and the pressure ratcheting up around his job security in the fan base, the former Notre Dame offensive lineman recalls the mood around practicing being unexpectedly spirited, cheerful and confident

It’s not something you’d think to have around a struggling team. But Norvell’s team had it.

From that point, FSU has gone 15-6 and finds itself staring down enormous expectations in the chase for the ACC and the College Football Playoff. Golic believes all that stems from the attitude Norvell instilled even in the face of losing.

Norvell not alone in climbing out of the hole.

That week against Louisville, McKenzie Milton took every snap at quarterback. The now star quarterback Jordan Travis was on the bench with a shoulder injury, three weeks removed from being benched against Notre Dame and losing the job in that Jacksonville State game.

Now, Travis has the third best odds to win the Heisman Trophy.

How did Travis make this transition and what is the real ceiling for him this season? Golic believes he is one of the best athletes in all of college football. Yes, one of the best runners, but he’s also shown incredible growth with his arm from that 2021 season.

Florida State enters the 2023 season as near co-favorites in the ACC with the Clemson Tigers and in the top eight in odds to win the national title — a stark contrast from where they were a year ago.

It’s breakneck speed from the bottom to potentially the top of the ladder, but Golic says the transfer portal allows programs to microwave the roster. Florida State has excelled at it with a roster full of transfer names leading the way.

He’s a big fan of Trey Benson’s running style and how he sets up his blockers for success. He’s excited to see how Johnny Wilson and Keon Coleman work as a one-two punch at receiver. But most of all, he’s excited to see how Norvell uses Jaheim Bell, one of his favorite players to watch while calling South Carolina games over the last few seasons.

Talking heads have been predicting the demise of Clemson for a couple years now, but it hasn’t happened yet. And until someone takes it from them, Golic says they have to remain the favorites to win the conference again.

But that doesn’t mean FSU isn’t ready and capable to dethrone them.

He sees the ACC as a two-team conference at this point unless somebody makes a large jump and surprises. Pitt, Miami, North Carolina and NC State are all teams certainly capable of contending for the crown, but they remain a tier below the top-two in the conference in Florida State and Clemson

For more detail and insight on Golic’s thoughts on Florida State, the ACC and the CFP, listen to this bonus episode of the Seminole Wrap podcast available now.

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What hurricane?

Even with Hurricane Idalia in the back of everyone’s mind in Tallahassee, it was business as usual for the Seminoles.

Head coach Mike Norvell brought his usual energy, but the sense of urgency was more significant in the tone of his voice. During his media availability, he said that he “liked what I saw today” and felt “ the work was where we needed it to be.” Florida State was in full pads today, an overall solid practice for the team.

Norvell believes his team will meet tomorrow and are “tracking the storm every hour,” but it should not cause a predicament in their preparation.

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The Florida State Seminoles released their first depth chart of the 2023 season on Monday, six days before the season opener against the LSU Tigers. The highly touted, top-ten matchup between the No. 8 Seminoles and No. 6 Tigers will be a primetime showdown at 7:30 PM this Sunday on ABC.

Last year, the two squads faced off an instant classic that saw the Seminoles come out on top in a last-second thriller by way of a blocked extra point.

According to DraftKings, the Seminoles remain a 2.5-point underdog against the Tigers, with the over/under set at 58.5.

On the depth chart are a few names that were expected — Heisman Trophy-contending quarterback Jordan Travis and potential top 10 NFL Draft pick defensive end Jared Verse, for example — but a few Florida State newcomers have earned starting status according to the week’s projected depth chart.

Some of the more notable? At the wide receiver position, Destyn Hill and Winston Wright Jr. have emerged as starters, as well as tight ends Kyle Morlock and Jaheim Bell. Highly touted defensive transfers in defensive lineman Braden Fiske and defensive back Fentrell Cypress II also locked down top spot on the chart, while Keon Coleman has been tabbed as punt returner.

Quarterback: Jordan Travis

Running back: Trey Benson

Running back: Lawrance Toafili

Wide receivers: Johnny Wilson, Destyn Hill, Winston Wright Jr., Keon Coleman

Tight end: Kyle Morlock

Tight end: Jaheim Bell

Left tackle: Robert Scott Jr.

Left guard: Casey Roddick

Center: Maurice Smith

Right guard: D’Mitri Emmanuel

Right tackle: Jeremiah Byers

Defensive end: Jared Verse

Defensive tackle: Braden Fiske

Defensive tackle: Fabien Lovett

Defensive end: Patrick Payton

Linebackers: Kalen DeLoach, Tatum Bethune

Nickel: Jarrian Jones

Cornerback: Fentrell Cypress II, Renardo Green

BUCK: Shyheim Brown

Safety: Akeem Dent

Kick returner: Deuce Spann

Punt returner: Keon Coleman

Kicker: Ryan Fitzgerald

Punter: Alex Mastromanno

Kickoff specialist: Ryan Fitzgerald

Long snapper: James Rosenberry Jr.

Holder: Alex Mastromanno

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Welcome to Week 1.

Florida State football is finally here. Game week arrives for the Seminoles as a date with the LSU Tigers in Orlando is just six days away.

With the first game of the year arriving in less than a week, the Seminole Wrap crew — Brian Pellerin, Jon Marchant and Ben Meyerson — discuss their expectations for Sunday’s marquee matchup and the rest of Florida State’s season.

The only top-ten contest of opening weekend, Florida State vs. LSU figures to be a tight one. The spread from DraftKings has LSU as small 2.5 point favorites, a position its held for a few weeks now, entering Monday.

With last year’s tight contest as a guide, this game figures to come down to the margins. One play can and likely will make the difference.

So where could those big plays come from?

Our guys are keeping their eyes on the LSU rushing attack against Florida State’s front as the Tigers try to establish a new identity behind their offensive line and Florida State’s wide receivers against the LSU secondary as their new bevy of weapons figures to give the new faces playing for the Tigers some fits.

Brian, Ben and Jon each give their predictions for the game with no one expecting a contest finishing even a touchdown apart, but they were split on who would ultimately end up with the edge.

(Long time listeners may not be surprised by who split that decision. Plus a wager on the game to be paid out on next week’s pod.)

Each member of the team shares their thoughts on where they see the Noles season finishing when they look into their crystal ball. The spoiler alert there is that each of them are picking progression over last season.

But what if things were to go wrong?

What should be the baseline expectation for this team if they remain healthy in the key spots? And where would this team have to finish for the year with so much excitement and expectations be considered a disappointment?

Can Florida State fans be happy if they fail to grab the ACC title?

This is an action item request: Let us know what you think. Could FSU’s season be considered successful without being ACC Champions?

Regardless of how it is, the crew is in agreement — 2023 will be a fun year to be a Florida State fan.

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Florida State Seminoles football took to Doak Campbell Stadium on Saturday night for the final practice of preseason camp, with head coach Mike Norvell excited about the opportunity for his team to get a quick feel for their home field.

“I thought tonight was a good night, getting back out in Doak Campell,” he said after practice. “We wanted to get a little bit of experience of that. I thought they came out and worked. It was a tough practice, we wanted and needed one I thought there were some up and down moments throughout practice, but all in all, I’m liking what I’m seeing from this team.”

“I thought there were some moments of elite-level intensity today, and there were some moments where we, especially later in practice, kind of jumped on guys. I’s been a real camp, we’ve gotten after it..really good moments in today’s practice, but some of those times where maybe [we’re] not as sharp we got to continue to get better.”

Norvell met with the media after practice to offer impressions on the night’s work output and overall fall camp thoughts and Florida State’s season opener vs. the LSU Tigers approaches.

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College football is back in our lives.

Yes, it’s a snack size week zero once again, but it’s more than we had a week ago.

One new new big addition to our pod network this season? A new show, Sharpen the Point.

Each Friday. Brian Pellerin and Chris Tyndall will talk about the games that stand out that weekend — some weeks maybe two games, others maybe 10 — as well as, another new addition, which matchups will make the difference.

Chris is an avid college football daily fantasy player who possibly knows more about third-string running backs and college football injury reports than many college coaches may know. So we’ll leverage his deep knowledge of those things to hopefully give us a deeper look into the games and his perspective on where he’s interested in building lineups for this week’s competitions.

We will be getting all the lines and salaries from DraftKings because they provide lines and DFS prices so it’s easier to track picks.

Whether you like picking games or playing DFS, we want the podcast to be something any fan of college football can enjoy and learn something from and hopefully we can accomplish that for you. Allow us some growing pains as we build the plane in the air and let’s have some fun with what’s shaping up to be a very fun college football season for the Garnet & Gold.

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Red and white — with the occasional green.

All of fall camp, those have been the only jersey colors worn. That changed today, with scout team players donning new jet-black Nike practice jerseys for the first time this fall as what Florida State Seminoles head coach Mike Norvell alluded to yesterday came to fruition — it was time for the team to begin to amp up its efforts in locking in for its season-opening matchup vs. the LSU Tigers.

It was the first time extensive scout work had been done this fall, officially shifting the team's focus from camp and reacclimating to the standard to opening the season in Camping World Stadium.

Norvell reiterated this during his media availability this morning, saying that Thursday “was the first day of LSU looks and things that we anticipate.”

Practice looked different, but some players took it in stride and did not miss a beat.

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In less than two weeks, the Florida State Seminoles will open their 2023 season against the LSU Tigers in Orlando.

It’s the second time in as many years the two will face off against each other, but the stakes feel much different this go around.

Both teams have found themselves ranked in the top ten of the AP and Coaches poll to start the year — last season, both were unranked.

LSU and FSU are in the top seven best odds to win the College Football Playoff this season, according to DraftKings Sportsbook — last season, ten wins for either team felt like a long shot.

The questions from last season around the two quarterbacks are now all but gone as LSU’s Jayden Daniels and FSU’s Jordan Travis are in the top five favorites to hoist the Heisman trophy.

A lot of the perceptions around the teams have changed, but what really makes them so different from a year ago?

On this week’s episode of the Seminole Wrap podcast, Brian Pellerin is joined by Grant Chachere, an LSU beat writer from And The Valley Shook, to talk about the Tigers.

Last year’s contest was an ugly 24-23 Florida State win. Neither team amounted much in the way of explosive plays, but it was LSU who really couldn’t find their footing.

The Bayou Bengals lacked anything that resembled a dangerous offense until late in the contest. Outside of those final two drives, it was anything but pretty. The offense had errant snaps. The kicking unit had multiple kicks blocked. The punt return team muffed multiple returns.

Like I said, not pretty.

But LSU ended up winning 10 games in route to claiming the SEC West title over Alabama.

Now, the Tigers are expected to compete for the SEC and national titles. So what’s changed?

As mentioned above, Jayden Daniels is among the favorites to hoist the Heisman this year, but you wouldn’t know it from last season’s game against FSU. By all accounts, he’s taken to Brian Kelly’s staff and taken control of the offense.

So what allowed him to blossom last season? What does he look like so far this year? And is the hype warranted?

Kayshon Boutte was the talk of the town last season, but it was Malik Nabors who showed out. He blossomed as the year went along and is now the most dangerous weapon on the Tigers’ offense. What does he bring to the table and who else do the Noles need to look out for?

The LSU defense was solid in last year’s contest, but there were a few faces that became stars that were not on the field that night. Who are Harold Perkins, Maason Smith and Mekhi Wingo? And how could their presence impact Florida State’s offense this year?

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With two weeks to go until Florida State Seminoles football takes on the LSU Tigers in a season-opening top-ten clash, the already-established need for elevated execution and consistency is hitting another level.

After the Seminoles’ second scrimmage of preseason camp, head coach Mike Norvell, offensive coordinator/offensive line coach Alex Atkins, defensive coordinator Adam Fuller and special teams coordinator/defensive ends coach John Papuchis all took to the mic, speaking on individual and positional performances but emphasizing the challenge placed before the team ahead of an expectations-filled season.

“Florida State is not for everybody — it’s just for the real ones,” Norvell said. “It’s for the ones that when they say they want to go and accomplish great things, then you know we’re going to help them work towards it.”

Video via Warchant

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