As we count down 50 days until the start of the 2014 college football season, ESPN Insider Travis Haney is answering at least one big question a day until South Carolina and Texas A&M’s kickoff on Aug. 28.

Heisman contenders, breakout freshmen, conference winners -– it will all be covered as part of Insider’s Ultimate Season Preview.

Today’s question: Which team could potentially knock off FSU?

The Florida State Seminoles, according to our Stats & Information department, have a 40 percent chance of going undefeated. The next-closest Power Five undefeated probability is Ohio State -- at 8 percent.

It’s sort of like a batting average in baseball, isn't it? Optimal as it might seem by relative comparison, FSU still has a 60 percent chance of losing at least one game.

Why that’s important: How much would the playoff selection committee discount a one-loss FSU team because of a weaker ACC schedule -- the very one that dramatically increases its odds of going 12-0 in the regular season? How much cache would it carry being the defending champs? Would it need to go undefeated to crack the top four?

The Football Power Index formula suggests that Miami (13 percent win probability), Clemson (12 percent) and Florida (9 percent) will be the closest games.

But, c’mon, you’ve watched enough college football. It’s the longshot that often comes in.

That longshot is Notre Dame. And here’s why. Notre Dame is going to have to score in the 30s to win in Tallahassee on Oct. 18. The Irish can and will.

The conservative, pro-style-looking offense is out for the Irish. The spread that’s a throwback to Brian Kelly’s Cincinnati days is in.

The last time you saw QB Everett Golson, he was a wiry freshman, a game-manager in every sense. Now, back from an academic-related suspension, he has added 15 pounds and appears and sounds more mature.

Notre Dame is looking at a renaissance, a shift in which the offense becomes the cornerstone on which the team is built.

Kelly had already vowed to primarily take over the play calling, but OC Mike Denbrock’s current medical leave has made Kelly interim OC during camp. His fingerprints will be all over the change.

“Brian seems really into it,” a coach who knows Kelly told me last month. “Not that he wasn't before, I’m not saying that, but I want to see what he does with this offense.”

From QB to the line, this is as stacked as the offense has been since Kelly arrived. An average recruiting class ranking of 8th since 2012 has helped shift the team’s balance of power.

-- In addition to the added bulk, Golson is carrying himself very differently than he did as a freshman. And he was pinpoint-accurate during Elite 11 workouts. He could have a monster year, especially if he’s right about the bolstered skill positions.

-- RB Greg Bryant, the No. 2 back in the 2013 class, is Golson’s choice to have a breakout year for the offense. Cam McDaniel is a dependable senior, but Bryant and Tarean Folston will become game-changers.

-- DaVaris Daniels, Corey Robinson and slot Amir Carlisle, a converted RB, provide versatility and depth at WR.

-- At OL, there’s a nice blend of experience and young talent, such as sophomore Mike McGlinchey at tackle.

-- Golson loves TE Ben Koyack as another pass-catching threat in the Troy Niklas-Tyler Eifert vein. Golson said to expect a big year from Koyack.

The ND offense will not be outgunned by yet another elite FSU defense.

“You play to your [strongest] side,” Golson told me last month. “In 2012, we were play-action, I-formation. Now we can open it up and run more spread option. We have the tools to do it.”

Auburn’s spread tempo obviously had success at times against the FSU defense, and Notre Dame’s new look should be conceptually similar.

The key, as simplistic as it sounds, will be scoring touchdowns. As I've written before, the yards-per-play number from 2012-13 wasn't as bad as you'd think (6.03; 39th in the FBS), but the team’s scoring average was (26.5; 77th).

The Irish need to get the ball into the end zone.

“I'd be excited to be back with my teammates no matter what,” Golson told me, “but then I look at this talent around me …”

It’s enough talent to upset FSU on the road, 31-24.