For the first time under Mike Norvell and just the second time in the last five seasons, the Florida State football team will be in a bowl this year.
The Seminoles won their seventh game in blowout fashion Saturday at Syracuse, continuing to raise their standing in the ACC’s pecking order for bowl games.
While the talk has turned to where FSU could be headed this bowl season for a few weeks now, there’s now more zeroing in as FSU establishes itself near the top of the conference.
There are a few nearby bowl locations that FSU fans in the state could flock to and some others all over the country, which could make for fun December getaways.
First, here’s the full list of the bowls that the ACC is affiliated with for the 2022-23 bowl season.
Where do various college football analysts have FSU headed this bowl season? Let’s take a look at this week’s various projections.
ESPN’s two bowl projection analysts remain split on where the Seminoles are headed, but both have them staying in the state. Kyle Bonagura has FSU playing Oklahoma State in the Cheez-It Bowl while Mark Schlabach has the Seminoles playing South Carolina in the Gator Bowl.
FSU hasn’t played Okie State since the 2014 season opener and leads the all-time series 4-1. FSU and South Carolina were former Metro Conference foes and the Seminoles hold a commanding 16-3 lead in the all-time series.
For the second straight week, Jerry Palm has FSU playing in the Military Bowl. This time, though, he has the Seminoles facing Cincinnati, a tough matchup given where the Bearcats have been recently. FSU is 6-0 all-time against Cincinnati and hasn’t played the program since 1990.
Brett McMurphy of the Action Network has FSU trekking across the country to play in the Holiday Bowl. He has the Seminoles taking on Utah and the website predicts that FSU would be favored by 1.5 points in the matchup. FSU and Utah have never played.
Erick Smith with USA Today Sports also has the Seminoles staying in Florida and playing Texas in the Cheez-It Bowl. The matchup of former college football powers who are both trying to work their way back to that level would be an intriguing one. It would also somewhat unbelievably be the first time FSU has ever faced the Longhorns.
Like one of the ESPN prognosticators, the Athletic’s bowl projections have FSU staying in the state and playing Oklahoma State.
Richard Johnson of Sports Illustrated went in a different direction from many of the other bowl projections, sending FSU back to North Carolina to play in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl against Illinois.
The Fighting Illini have fallen on hard times with two straight losses, but were in the College Football Playoff conversation as recently as a few weeks ago. FSU has never played against Illinois.
For the second straight week, Steven Lassan of Athlon Sports has FSU playing in the Holiday Bowl against Washington.
Finally, in what has been the trend in this week’s projections, Bill Bender and the Sporting News are projecting FSU to play in the Cheez-It Bowl and take on Texas, just like USA Today.
