No. 13 Florida State may have that 63-20 loss to Louisville permanently on their resume, but according to ESPN's Football Power Index (FPI), that loss may not matter that much in the grand scheme of things.
Based off of FPI's game-by-game projections, Florida State is currently the favorite to win the rest of their games for this season. The reason that is significant: the remaining games on the Seminoles' schedule aren't all cupcakes. Florida State still has North Carolina, Clemson, Florida, and at Miami left on the schedule.
The reason behind this — at least in FPI terms — is that Florida State is still ranked highly even after their loss to Louisville. In overall FPI, the Seminoles still rank sixth overall, just behind Clemson. Florida State also ranks sixth among Power 5 teams in FPI's "win-out percentage", proving one thing: FPI hasn't given up on the Noles just yet.
If Florida State were to run the table for the rest of the regular season, it would be quite a case study for the Playoff selection committee if Louisville also goes undefeated. How would you treat a team that has a ridiculous resume — like Florida State would have at that point — but also has one giant blemish to a team that is a lock for the Playoff?
Of course, a three-way tie in the ACC Atlantic could even further complicate things. Being on the committee definitely wouldn't be an enviable job if that were to happen.
