Pete Thamel predicts FSU as ACC Champion, No. 4 seed in College Football Playoff

Pete Thamel expects another thrilling season ahead for Florida State. In a conversation with Rece Davis, the ESPN analyst explained why he believes the Seminoles will make their first College Football Playoff appearance in the 2024 campaign.

“My pick of Florida State is because I feel like they have the best offensive and defensive lines in the ACC,” Thamel said. “Their offensive line, again, returns a ton of starters, because even the guys who are going to emerge as new kind of Day 1 starters, have played a lot for them. Darius Washington at left tackle — these guys been around forever.

“Their fronts are so sound and so solid that everything should fall into place. Obviously, it’s a little bit of a bet on DJ Uiagalelei, who’s been a very good college quarterback. He’s not been a championship college quarterback. So, will we see him emerge as that guy? I have a lot of faith in Mike Norvell‘s ability to maximize DJ.”

Florida State will return 58% of its production from last season for the 2024 campaign, per ESPN. Returners such as Darius Washington, Maurice Smith, Jeremiah Byers, Rob Scott will anchor Florida State’s offensive line.

Meanwhile, the defensive line added Marvin Jones Jr., Tomiwa Durojaiye and Sione Lolohea this offseason, via the NCAA Transfer Portal. While the Seminoles look stout in the trenches, their linemen can’t score the ball.

As Thamel mentioned, former Oregon State quarterback DJ Uiagalelei will be pivotal to FSU’s success. In his lone season with the Beavers, Uiagalelei tallied 2,638 passing yards and 21 touchdowns while only throwing seven interceptions.

In July, Norvell claimed Uiagalelei has been “remarkable” for at Florida State’s practices this offseason. However, he must translate his success at practice to game days. No matter where FSU finishes this season, Thamel has been wowed by Norvell’s stint with the program thus far.

“Mike Norvell took over a mess at Florida State and started slow and it was covid, right?” Thamel said. “So, they couldn’t go out and recruit. Now, all of a sudden, you’re starting to see the upperclassmen as guys who started to see the promise of Florida State, not just selling them on a dream.

“When you look at their star defensive tackle — Josh farmer, for example — was the first player to commit to Norvell. He’s an all ACC type player, dominant interior lineman… I feel like they go back-to-back [in the ACC], and it’ll be a great story. Florida State in the playoff.”