2010 Florida State Seminoles Preview Odds

Florida State Seminoles

7-6, 4-9 ATS, 3rd Place in ACC Atlantic

Odds to Win 2010 BCS Championship: +7500
Odds to Win ACC 9/2
at Bookmaker Sportsbook

The Seminoles stumbled out of the gate in 2009, losing four of their first six games by a combined 26 points. The team righted the ship and three of its four subsequent wins came by three points each. Now, with a deep defense and returning stars on the offense, the Seminoles look to explode onto the national stage once again in the first season without HC Bobby Bowden roaming the sidelines.

Offensive Outlook: Last year, Christian Ponder led the 25th best passing offense, throwing for 2,716 yards, completing 68.8% of his passes for 14 touchdowns to seven interceptions. Ponder will lose one of his top targets in Rod Owens, but the wide receiver position for the Seminoles runs deep. Burt Reed, Jarmon Fortson, and Taiwan Easterling, all juniors, will be impact players. Reed caught 60 balls for 710 yards, while Fortson gained 610 yards on 45 catches, scoring four times. Easterling added 412 yards on 35 catches, scoring twice. RB Jermaine Thomas will lead the rushing attack. Thomas was a workhorse last year, carrying 163 times for 832 yards and nine touchdowns. Look for Ty Jones to contribute heavily in 2010.

Defensive Outlook: The defense is where this team struggled a year ago, giving up 433.8 yards and 203 rushing yards per game, putting them at 108th in both categories. They also allowed opponents to convert on third down 44.7% of the time. Returning senior cornerback Ochucko Jenije led the team with four interceptions and now with five junior linebackers and a corps of sophomore safeties, the defense as a whole stands to improve greatly from allowing 30 points per game a year ago.

The Final Word: The Seminole winds are blowing Florida State straight to the top of the ACC Atlantic. With a solid quarterback in Ponder, several receiving and running options, and an experienced defense, the only thing stopping the Seminoles this year will be themselves. A Week 2 upset victory against Oklahoma is definitely not out of the question, either.

2010 Florida State Seminoles Prediction: 9-3, 1st place in ACC Atlantic

2010 Florida State Seminoles Schedule
9/4 Samford
9/11 @ Oklahoma
9/18 BYU
9/25 Wake Forest
10/2 @ Virginia
10/9 @ Miami
10/16 Boston College
10/28 @ North Carolina State
11/6 North Carolina
11/13 Clemson
11/20 @ Maryland
11/27 Florida