Saturday November 24, 2012 to most people was a time when they were busy eating their Thanksgiving leftovers. But for the Florida State Seminoles football program it was the last time that they tasted defeat. The Seminoles would lose that evening at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee to the Florida Gators 37-26. The Seminoles would finish that season by defeating the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship Game before breezing through the Northern Illinois Huskies in the Discover Orange Bowl. Florida State began the 2013 college football season with a redshirt freshman as their starting quarterback in Jameis Winston. But Winston would play above his years and have a season for the ages as he won the Heisman Trophy while leading the ‘Noles to an undefeated season and a national championship. Florida State began this season as the top ranked team in the nation and after nine games they have yet to walk off of the gridiron as losers and dating back to 2012, they now have a 25-game winning streak.
Last year Florida State’s average margin of victory was nearly 40 points as they ran roughshod over anyone who faced them. This season has been a little different for Florida State as they are taking everyone’s best punch which is to be expected being that they are the defending national champs. In their season opener, Florida State squeaked past the Oklahoma State Cowboys 37-31 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. On September 20, Winston was suspended for Florida State’s game versus the Clemson Tigers in which they needed overtime to prevail in. The following week the ‘Noles traveled to Raleigh, North Carolina take on the North Carolina State Wolfpack. And after one quarter of play Florida State found themselves down 24-7. But undaunted, Winston and the Seminoles would rally to win 56-41. On October 5, Florida State would welcome the fifth-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish to Tallahassee and the game was a nail bitter in every perception of the definition as it took a late defensive stand for the Seminoles to triumph 31-27. On October 30, Florida State had to overcome a 21-0 deficit to the ACC newcomer in the Louisville Cardinals as they won 42-31 and while continually finding ways to win.
In spite of their unblemished record, Florida State is currently ranked third in the latest college football playoff rankings due to the fact that the ACC doesn’t stack up with some of the other power conferences such as the Southeastern, Pac-12, and Big 12 Conferences. The current top 15 rankings are dominated by the SEC, Pac-12, and Big 12 Conferences with Florida State being the only ACC team there. The teams from those other power conferences will bump heads while Florida State only needs to worry about winning games instead of style points. Due to the ACC’s reputation as a weak football conference, a loss by Florida State at this point of the season would all but eliminate them from a chance to repeat as national champs. If the Seminoles were to finish the regular season undefeated, a potential showdown with the Duke Blue Devils in the ACC Championship Game could be a shot in the arm for them. Duke currently checks in 21st in the college football rankings. The remainder of the Blue Devils schedule is an easy one which means that they should be ranked in the top 20 by the time that the conference title game rolls around. If that is the case and Florida State is able to defeat Duke for the second consecutive year in the ACC Title Game, it should be enough to propel the Seminoles into the inaugural four-team college football playoff.
Jameis Winston
Unlike last year when Winston had more of a supporting cast, he has been shouldering the load. Where Winston passed for 4,057 yards last season with 40 touchdown passes to just 10 interceptions, he has 17 passing touchdowns so far to 11 interceptions. But Winston plays his best when the game is on the line in the fourth quarter as he simply knows how to take his game to the next level which puts a smile on the face of Florida State head football coach Jimbo Fisher while the Seminoles defense hasn’t been as opportunistic as it was a season ago. This season the Seminoles are giving up 10 more points per game than they did in 2013 which can be attributed to their three best defensive players from a year ago in defensive tackle Timmy Jernigan, linebacker Tevin Smith, and cornerback Lamarcus Joyner all moving on to the National Football League. And for the ‘Noles to repeat as national champions some of the youngsters on the defensive side of the football must step it up coming down the stretch.
Jimbo Fisher
For Fisher he initially came to Florida State in 2007 as an offensive coordinator and the school made him “the head coach in waiting” to eventually replace the legendary Bobby Bowden. Fisher would take over as the head man in charge in 2009 as he sought to get the ‘Noles back to their perch with the elite teams in college football and he has done that as Florida State has finished every season under him ranked in the top 25 and they began this season as the top team in the nation for the first time since 1999. But it all hasn’t been a bed of roses for Fisher in Tallahassee as he has come under scrutiny in the way that he has handled some of Winston’s off-the-field discrepancies which ultimately led to Winston being suspended earlier this season. But make no mistake about it that Fisher can coach and he has gotten Florida State back to what they were in their heyday under Bowden which was a team that simply dominated the ACC.
For the Seminoles it is simple. A victory this Saturday night by Florida State over the Miami Hurricanes will clinch the Atlantic Division of the ACC. Next Saturday, Florida State will host Boston College before finishing up at home on November 29 versus Florida. If the Seminoles are able to win out they should be able to secure a spot in the college football playoff where anything is bound to happen.
Source: Sports-reference.com, Cfbstats.com
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