Florida State did not take the field over the weekend, but the Seminoles still lost a little ground in ESPN’s latest Football Power Index rankings.
FSU dropped one spot from No. 36 to No. 37 nationally following its second and final bye week of the 2026 season. The Seminoles remain 3-4 overall and 1-3 in ACC play after last taking the field in a 43-35 double-overtime loss at Miami on Oct. 17.
The small decline comes one week after Florida State made a much more significant move in the opposite direction. FSU climbed five spots from No. 41 to No. 36 after pushing then-No. 3 Miami into double overtime, carrying a 9.6 FPI rating in that update.
A bye week does not necessarily freeze a team’s position in FPI. ESPN’s model is designed to measure expected team strength moving forward and updates as new results are added across college football. Because the rankings are relative, movement elsewhere can cause an idle team to rise or fall without playing.
There was plenty of movement around the ACC during FSU’s week off. Miami strengthened its résumé with a 52-23 win over Pittsburgh, Boston College rolled past Georgia Tech 49-27, Virginia Tech beat Clemson 20-16, and Stanford handed NC State a 31-28 loss.
Florida State now turns its attention to Clemson, which comes to Tallahassee on Saturday night after dropping to 4-3 with the loss to Virginia Tech. The Seminoles host the Tigers at 7 p.m. ET on Oct. 31 at Doak Campbell Stadium.
For FSU, the one-spot slide is relatively minor compared with the dramatic swings it has experienced throughout the season. With five games remaining, beginning with Clemson, the Seminoles will have plenty of opportunities to change ESPN’s view of them again.
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This article originally appeared on FSU Wire: FSU drops again in ESPN’s FPI rankings