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Matt Leinart: Florida State still isn't getting the respect they deserve

Alex Weberby:Alex Weber•09/30/22
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Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images

As part of his sit-down with On3’s Pete Nakos, former USC standout and college football analyst Matt Leinart revealed which team in the CFB landscape he believes is getting far less credit that they deserve. That team: the Florida State Seminoles, who is 4-0 with impressive results each time out.

Starting with that bizarre win over LSU, where the ‘Noles dominated the game but let the Tigers come back at the very end only to miss an extra point to seal it for FSU. Then, they took down Louisville in Cardinal Stadium, and then smashed Boston College by 30 at home.

Add it all up and Leinart sees a good football team worthy of more praise than they’ve so far received.

“By the way, maybe the most under-appreciated team in college football so far. There’s only two teams in college football that have wins against three Power Five opponents. Florida State’s one of them,” Leinart said. “I mean, it’s just one of those things where, again, it’s kind of all narrative. It’s like Kansas. Kansas has been so bad for so long. Now they’re winning some games and everyone’s like, ‘We just don’t want to give him credit for winning games.’ That’s why I hate preseason rankings. But I think the same with Florida State. You know, they struggled. But they’re still not getting the respect they deserve.”

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More respect for teams like Florida State and Kansas, says Leinart. Squads that didn’t get preseason love but have earned their way into the national discussion. However, the road gets a lot tougher to hoe for the Seminoles the next few weeks as they face three straight currently ranked ACC teams in Wake Forest, NC State and Clemson. Leinart agrees:

“The next month is really going to tell us where they’re at as a program. Even if they lose one of those games, and they’re 5-1 or 6-2 – that’s big time,” Leinart said. “So yeah, at this point, it’s a about the big brands. And that’s a big reason why Kansas is not even in the top 25. And they have a couple of really good wins.”

Matt Leinart believes in results over preseason expectations, and believes the nation should adjust accordingly as the season progresses.