The first AP Poll of 2016 was released on Sunday morning, and as always, it was followed with a ton of debates about whether teams are ranked too high or too low. One thing's for certain though, is that a preseason ranking inside the top five bodes well for the Florida State Seminoles, who checked in at No. 4. Scout.com compiled data regarding past FSU teams who were ranked in the top five at the start of the season and historically, FSU teams do very well when they start out in the top five.
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Per Scout, in the 15 years that FSU began a season inside the Top-5 of the AP Poll, they finished inside the Top-5 a total of 13 times. The Seminoles have won two of their three national championships from a Top-5 ranking — with the 2013 season that they beat Auburn being the outlier. Below is a little bit of what Scout found.
| 1998 | 2 | 3 | 11-2 |
| 1999 | 1 | 1 | 12-0 |
| 2000 | 2 | 5 | 11-2 |
| 2002 | 3 | 21 | 9-5 |
| 2004 | 5 | 15 | 9-3 |
| 2014 | 1 | 5 | 13-1 |
Given that Florida State gets two of its opponents ranked inside the AP Poll — No. 2 Clemson and No. 25 Florida at home, things look pretty positive for the 'Noles this season. We'll see if 2016 yields another successful Top 5 finish by the end of it all. If this data is any indication, they have a very good chance to do so.
[H/T: Scout.com]
