Analysis: Breaking down the highs, lows of FSU's 2020 football schedule

Here is a breakdown of the Seminoles' 12 regular-season games:

Sept. 5 -- West Virginia (in Atlanta)

The Seminoles return to Mercedes-Benz Stadium for the first time in three years, hoping it goes better than the last time they were in the building (a loss to Alabama to start the 2017 season). West Virginia was 5-7 a year ago in the first campaign under Neal Brown. The Mountaineers allowed almost 30 points per game in 2019 and finished just 3-6 in Big 12 play, but their biggest problems were on offense. They ranked No. 116 out of 130 schools in scoring offense at 20.6 points per game. Brown is an offensive-minded head coach, however, so substantial improvement should be expected in his second season.

Sept. 12 -- Samford (Doak Campbell Stadium)

As is usually the case when the Seminoles open up with a Power 5 opponent, the next game is at home against an FCS school. This time it's Samford, which is famously where both Jimbo Fisher and Bobby Bowden played to end their college careers. The Bulldogs are essentially coming to Tallahassee for a check, but we've all seen in recent years where heavy underdogs have either knocked off Power 5 schools or taken them right down to the wire (for example: Samford at FSU in 2018). This will be the first home game of Mike Norvell's Florida State career. Samford went 5-7 this past season and was demolished in its regular-season finale at Auburn, 52-0.