College football analyst Greg McElroy believes the Seminoles will take a “significant leap forward” this upcoming season.

This is Year 3 under coach Mike Norvell, and McElroy is buying in. He noted Florida State’s defensive improvements over the second half of last season as the Noles won 5 of their final 8 games.

“The biggest reason why I’m most optimistic about Florida State, look at what they did down the stretch defensively,” McElroy said. “The final 2 months of the season, this is a different-looking group defensively. I think this defense continues to build on what they did last year. And if they can do that and the offense comes along, say, 10-20% better, a couple of those toss-up games are going to be flipped.”

McElroy also pointed out the number of close games the Seminoles played in last season. FSU played close, competitive games with Notre Dame, Jacksonville State, Louisville, Clemson and Florida.

“They had a couple teams on the ropes last year,” McElroy added. “This team was a lot closer than I think some people like to suggest. And I think this is the year where I think they get over the hump and take a significant leap forward.”

Here’s a clip of McElroy’s full thoughts:

Florida State has a tough schedule again this season. The Noles won’t play Notre Dame, but they do face LSU in New Orleans on Sunday night of Week 1.

FSU opens the 2022 season in Week 0 vs. Duquesne on Aug. 27.