FSU Football Slips In Power Rankings Despite Competive Outing Against Alabama

The Florida State Seminoles are 1-2 through the first quarter of the 2026 season. However, two of those losses have come to ranked opponents by a combined 17 points, including a 3-point defeat against SMU.

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In the most recent loss to the Alabama Crimson Tide, Florida State squandered a 21-6 first-half lead. The Seminoles absolutely collapsed at the end of the second quarter, giving up three touchdowns in roughly 2:14 of game time.

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Following that flurry, the Crimson Tide stepped on the gas. Alabama’s offense scored on 9 straight possessions from the first quarter to the fourth quarter, and limited Florida State to 15 points in the second half.

Despite keeping it relatively close, the Seminoles fell for the second straight week in CBS Sports’ College Football Power Rankings.

FSU Falls Outside Of Top 50 In Power Rankings

On Monday, CBS Sports updated its power rankings following the action in Week 3.

Florida State, which led Alabama by double-digits and was a three-touchdown underdog, dropped 2 spots to No. 51, slipping outside of the top-50.

Head coach Mike Norvell was proud of the way the Seminoles competed. At the same time, moral victories aren’t anything that Florida State can sit on after two seasons of failures.

“Thought we put ourselves in position, but did not get the job done. I am proud of the fight of our players. I mean, there in the locker room, we all feel the disappointment, but also feel the urgency to get better,” Norvell said on Monday. “As we sit there and we go through this process, we lost to two good football teams early in the season with ample opportunities to go and win it.”

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“We didn’t make enough plays in either of those games to finish the job. And that’s what we have to do,” Norvell added. “That’s what we got to continue to work on to make sure that our consistency is where it needs to be, and we need to see the improvement, which I’ve seen; we’ve seen some flashes. We’ve seen capability against quality people. But we’ve got to go and be better.”

The Seminoles are the highest-ranked 1-2 team in CBS Sports’ metric, and actually sit above 3-0 Vanderbilt (No. 52), 3-1 Memphis (No. 54), 4-0 North Dakota State (No. 55), and 3-0 James Madison (No. 58).

9 ACC teams are ahead of FSU, including 4 (Virginia, Louisville, Miami, Pittsburgh) that still remain on the schedule.

Florida State hosts Central Arkansas on Saturday, September 26. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. ET on the ACC Network.

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Today’s best reads

• Mike Norvell On FSU Football’s Collapse Against Alabama: ‘I’m Pissed Off Right Now’
• Florida State Football’s 12 ‘Notes To Know’ For Rematch Against Alabama Crimson Tide
• 3 Thoughts As FSU Football’s Hot Start Fades In Loss To Alabama
• FSU Football Announces Uniform Combination For No. 10 Alabama Crimson Tide Matchup
• FSU Football Fans Mixed After Seminoles Fall Short Of Upset Against No. 10 Alabama

This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/fsu as FSU Football Slips In Power Rankings Despite Competive Outing Against Alabama.

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This story was originally published September 22, 2026 at 9:42 AM.