Florida State falls out of the preseason top 10 and likely misses a bowl game after losing to rival Miami

Less than a year removed from a 12-0 regular season and its first ACC championship since 2014, Florida State is likely out of bowl contention before the calendar turns to November. With a 36-14 loss to No. 6 Miami on Saturday, the Seminoles fell to 1-7 on the year and extended their ACC losing streak to four straight games.

This will be the first time Florida State will miss a bowl since 2021 and the third time under coach Mike Norvell. The Seminoles become the second Power Four Conference team to suffer seven losses in the 2024 season, joining Mississippi State (1-7), which lost 58-25 to Arkansas on Saturday afternoon.

It's been a season full of firsts for Florida State, almost all of which have been uniformly negative. In Week 8, the 'Noles lost to Duke for the first time in program history, ending a 22-game losing streak against their conference opponent. That dropped them to 1-6, their worst start since 1975 – the year before Bobby Bowden became head coach. It was also the worst seven-game start for a preseason top-10 team since 1989 LSU.

The door to Florida State's postseason hopes isn't quite closed yet, but the Seminoles would have to win – and they'd need a lot of help even without their control – to keep their slim hopes alive. In 2012, the NCAA relaxed bowl criteria to include 5-7 teams – a move made to accommodate the growing number of bowl games.

Any team that finishes with at least a 6-6 record will be selected first, and then any remaining vacancies will be filled with 5-7 teams, with programs scoring higher in the Academic Progress Rate rating receiving first priority.

It is extremely rare, but does happen every now and then. During the 2023 bowl season, Minnesota was the only 5-7 team to make the cut. The Gophers defeated Bowling Green in the Quick Lane Bowl 30-24.