Florida State Seminoles Odds to win the College Football National Championship with Expert Betting Predictions

I can save you from reading the next 800 words if you want - the Florida State Seminoles are very legitimate national contenders, and their chances will come down, in all likelihood to a game against Clemson. In other words, it's the same as always for Jimbo Fisher and company. They have plenty of talent, a schedule that is challenging at times but manageable, and more experience at QB than they had last year. They may or may not capitalize on their opportunity, but the opportunity is there for them yet again this year.

2016 in a Nutshell

If I had to pick a word to describe last season for the Seminoles it would be "embarrassing". Sure, a 10-3 record and an Orange Bowl win are far from disastrous, but it's how those three losses happened that stand out. They were thoroughly humiliated by Louisville - a team that subsequently collapsed - in losing by 43. Two games later they lost at home to North Carolina in a game that is on the short list of the most stunning results of the season for any team. And then they lost to Clemson in a game that was very tight but was at home for the Seminoles. Simply put, this team had too much going for them to lose three games, and two of the performances were totally inexcusable. They did win the Orange Bowl, but the game wasn't nearly as exciting as the 33-32 score might indicate, and neither them nor Michigan played well enough to write home about. All in all it wasn't a season that Fisher will remember fondly - or look to repeat in any way this year.

Key Additions and Departures

The team got off relatively light in the draft, losing just four players, with only Dalvin Cook and DeMarcus Walker standing out as significant losses. And even Cook, a superfreak, isn't anything to panic about because incoming freshman running back Cam Akers has the chance to be really special right out of the gate. Akers is the star of a top-six recruiting class that has a lot of potential future stars. A lack of talent isn't going to be a concern for this team - as usual.

Florida State Seminoles Schedule Analysis

As we talked about early on, the Clemson game - on the road on Nov. 11 this time around - is a huge one on the schedule this and every year. It is not the biggest test for this team, though. They open up playing Alabama, the strong national title favorites, in the shiny new stadium in Atlanta. That isn't likely to go well, but the good news is that a loss early isn't a disaster - as long as they don't totally embarrass themselves. Everything else until that Clemson game is fairly manageable. Louisville could be tough again, but the Seminoles get them at home this time, and should be starved for revenge. If they beat Clemson then the season could potentially be defined by the final game of the regular season - at Florida. The Gators are moving forward, and Gainesville is a tough place to play, so a win there to get to 11 wins could make them a strong playoff contender - assuming they win the ACC Championship Game, which is almost always a given for their division.

2017-18 Florida State Seminoles Betting Odds and Trends

Florida State is the +800 fourth choice to win the national title at BetOnline , well behind heavy favorites Alabama and just behind Ohio State and USC. They are the strong -110 favorites to win the ACC, well ahead of second choice Clemson at +350. Oddsmakers aren't nearly as optimistic about their opener, though - they are underdogs by a full touchdown against the Crimson Tide on a neutral field. Deondre Francois, the second-year QB, is the +1200 sixth choice to win the Heisman, which seems wildly optimistic from where I am sitting.

The team was a reasonable 8-4 ATS last year, but they covered their last four spreads to close strong. They went "under" the total is six of their last nine games after going "over" in their first three.

2017-18 Florida State Seminoles Predictions and College Football Picks

They are going to win the ACC. And they are going to get smoked by Alabama. They'll have to beat Florida to be relevant nationally. They should be a national contender, but I have as much trouble trusting them mentally over a long season as I do the Atlanta Falcons. That's not good. I respect them, but I don't expect them to be the last team standing - or even one of the last two. I also question what Fisher needs to do here. After flirting somewhat with leaving, and having a frustrating year last year, the attention will be more on him than it has been - and not entirely in positive ways. That could potentially have negative effects - especially if they stumble early on.

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