Florida State is back in action this weekend, facing off against the Kent State Golden Flashes before starting conference play.
The Seminoles (2-0) have shot up in the rankings over the course of the first three weeks of the season, going from an afterthought to the No. 7 team in the country. Now, they’ll face off against the one team that had an arguably worse 2024 than them in Kent State.
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The Golden Flashes have lost 23 straight games to FBS opponents, though they did snap their overall 21-game losing streak (which included nine straight to FCS opponents) in their season opener.
According to FanDuel, FSU is currently a 44.5-point favorite, with the over/under set at 55.5.
Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m., with the game to be broadcast on the ACC Network.
Florida State Seminoles vs. Kent State Golden Flashes: How to watch
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FSU Broadcast: CH. 161/193/SXM App
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FSU vs. Kent State: Game notes
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Florida State returns to action Saturday against Kent State after its first open date of the season. The Seminoles’ last game was a 77-3 win over East Texas A&M on Sept. 6, matching the largest margin of victory in program history.
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FSU’s No. 7 ranking this week is the highest Week 3 AP ranking for a team that was unranked in the preseason since the poll expanded to 25 teams in 1989. The Seminoles are only the fourth preseason unranked team to reach the top 10 in Week 3 in that era.
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The Seminoles totaled 729 yards of offense vs. East Texas A&M, with 361 rushing yards and 368 passing yards. It was the third time in program history, and first since 1995, that FSU had 350+ rushing yards and 350+ passing yards in the same game.
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FSU leads the nation in yards per completion (20.8), nearly three yards more than any other P4 team and six yards more than the next-closest ACC team. The Seminoles also rank top 10 nationally in plays of 30+ yards (10, 8th), 40+ yards (8, 3rd), and 50+ yards (5, 4th), and are one of 13 teams with an 80-yard play in 2025.
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FSU leads the country in passing efficiency (260.24) and is one of three teams with a touchback on every kickoff this season. The Seminoles’ 18 kickoffs are seven more than the other two teams with perfect touchback marks.
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FSU’s five fourth-down attempts are tied for 2nd-most nationally among the 22 teams with a perfect 4th-down conversion rate.
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The Seminoles lead the ACC in scoring offense (54.0, 3rd nationally), rushing offense (295.5, 6th), fewest penalties per game (3.50, 8th), and scoring defense (10.0, 14th). FSU is the only P4 team to lead its conference in both scoring offense and scoring defense.
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Florida State, which beat No. 8 Alabama 31-17 in this season’s opener and No. 5 LSU 45-24 in 2023, is the only non-SEC team with multiple regular-season wins over top-10 SEC opponents since the start of 2023.
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The only other non-conference losses by a top-10 SEC team in that span: No. 3 Alabama to No. 11 Texas in 2023, and No. 1 Texas to No. 3 Ohio State in 2025.
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Mike Norvell is the only head coach in the country with multiple regular-season non-conference wins over top-10 SEC opponents since 2016.
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Over the past 10 seasons, FSU’s nine regular-season non-conference wins over SEC teams rank 2nd nationally. Norvell has six such wins since 2016, also 2nd-most nationally.
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Offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn’s offenses have averaged 448.5 yards per game across 19-plus seasons as a coordinator or head coach.
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Defensive coordinator Tony White has led top-25 defenses in each of the last four seasons (Syracuse and Nebraska). In his last 26 games, his defenses have held opponents to 20 points or fewer 17 times and have not allowed a rushing touchdown in nine straight home games.
