ESPN projects Florida State back into the bowl game conversation

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Florida State has missed the postseason in each of the past two years, but ESPN’s first bowl projections for the 2026 season have the Seminoles returning to the postseason.

ESPN analysts Kyle Bonagura and Mark Schlabach both project Florida State to reach a bowl game this season and have the Seminoles facing the same opponent. In their preseason College Football Playoff and bowl projections, each analyst matched FSU with in-state program South Florida, though in different postseason destinations.

Schlabach projects Florida State to meet USF in the Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa. The game is scheduled for Dec. 18 at 2:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.

Bonagura also has the Seminoles facing the Bulls but sends the matchup north to the Freedom Mortgage Military Bowl at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland. That game will be played Dec. 28 at 2 p.m. ET on ESPN.

Both bowls have access to teams from the ACC and American Conference, making Florida State-South Florida a possible matchup within their respective selection structures.

For Florida State, simply appearing in either game would represent a return to bowl eligibility after two difficult seasons. The Seminoles went 2-10 in 2024 before improving to 5-7 last year, leaving Mike Norvell’s program without a postseason appearance in consecutive seasons.

A meeting with South Florida would also renew an in-state series that has been dormant for a decade. The programs last met in 2016 at Raymond James Stadium, when No. 13 Florida State defeated the Bulls 55-35 behind a 267-yard rushing performance from Dalvin Cook.

While Bonagura and Schlabach disagree on where Florida State could spend bowl season, their preseason projections share the more important takeaway for the Seminoles: both expect FSU to clear the six-win threshold and return to the postseason in 2026.

This article originally appeared on FSU Wire: ESPN projects Florida State back into the bowl game conversation

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