ACC QB Ranking Should Florida State Fans be Worried?

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It's rankings and predictions season in college football, and the latest
ranking of  ACC’s top quarterbacks is one Florida State fans might want to
look away from.

Athlon Sports senior college football editor Steven Lassan recently
released his rankings of the ACC’s top quarterbacks heading into the 2026
season. Florida State starter Ashton Daniels landed at No. 13, puts just four
quarterbacks behind him in the conference.

Lassan putting Daniels at No. 13 also echoes the skepticism surrounding
him nationally. That skepticism is the complete opposite of the belief inside
Florida State’s program, where they expect Daniels to be an explosive playmaker
on the field.

“Just his ownership of the offense, understanding where to go, you know,
the things of what to do, how he's been able to perform. I think he's done a
really good job,” Norvell said. “And has been highly efficient and explosive in
the things we've asked him to do.”

While Lassan thinks the pairing could be a good fit, he doesn’t have the
same enthusiasm for Daniels as Norvell.

“Daniels’ athleticism and experience should fit coach Mike Norvell’s
offense in 2026, but question marks remain about the upside of this pairing,”
Lassan wrote. “his career yards per attempt sit at 6.6. Interceptions (22 over
721 attempts) are a concern. Will Daniels deliver enough consistency in the
passing game for this offense to thrive?”

For the remaining Mike Norvell supporters, this is not a ranking they
want to see. Worse yet, Norvell enters the season widely viewed as sitting on
the hottest seat in college football.

In a season where Norvell needs his quarterback to come up big, Lassan’s
rankings are throwing a red flag. If it's an indication of what’s to come, 2026
could end up resembling Florida State’s previous two seasons.

This season, Florida State will face four quarterbacks in Lassan's ACC
top five QB. No. 7 Miami’s Darian Menah sits at No. 1, whom they face on Oct.
17. They face No. 19 SMU on Sept. 7, led by Kevin Jennings, Lassan’s No. 2
quarterback.

At No. 4 is NC State quarterback C.J. Bailey, a Florida native who chose
to leave the state; they face the Wolfpack on Nov. 21. Pitt’s Mason Heintschel
rounds out the top five, with the Seminoles scheduled to face him on Nov. 13.

Florida State will also face three quarterbacks ranked in Lassan’s top
10: No. 24 Louisville’s Lincoln Kienholz (No. 8) on Oct. 9, Virginia’s Beau
Pribula (No. 9) on Oct. 3, and Clemson’s Christopher Vizzina (No. 10) on Oct.
31.

The only QB that ranked below Daniels that Florida State will see is
Boston College's Mason McKenzie (No. 16) on Nov. 7.

Unfortunately for the Noles, they won’t only face top-ranked
quarterbacks in their conference. They play Alabama; USA Today's Blake
Toppmeyer has either Keelon Russell or Auston Mack as the No. 8-ranked SEC QB
regardless of who starts.

For Florida State, the hope is that Daniels can do what is needed to
prove those doubters wrong. And that’s something current college football
studio ACC Network analyst Eric Mac Lain, believes is possible.

“I think Ashton is gonna do what is needed to be done,” Mac Lain said.
“If it's there, he's gonna take it. If the throws there, that's what he's
looking for first and escaping to still throw the football.”

Mac Lain's optimism comes from a very small sample size; in his final
two games of the season against No. 15 and No. 10 Alabama, Daniels threw for
612 yards and 3 touchdowns. He also added another 3 touchdowns on the ground.

“Can you get the absolute best, the guy that quite frankly, we saw in
the last two games of his season at Auburn go nuts,: Mac Lain. “I mean, that
guy had like 700 all-purpose yards in two games. And that's fantastic. And
that's against a playoff team, Alabama, SEC champion participant, Alabama.”

Predicting college football in 2026 is like trying to put together a
puzzle upside down. With so much movement and so many new pieces added, it's
nearly impossible to know how everything will fit together. That's true for
Daniels, who is entering a completely different situation at Florida State.

Even the most knowledgeable, locked-in insiders and analysts are making
educated guesses about how all the pieces will fit together. And now it's up to
Daniels to prove Lassan and any other naysayers wrong.

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