CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Could Florida State drop out of the top four in the College Football Playoff?
Don’t bother asking that question to Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher. The Seminoles are all-but in after a 37-35 win against Georgia Tech in the ACC Championship game. There is no way the committee won’t put a 13-0 defending national champion that just became the ninth school in the AP Poll era to win 29 straight games in this playoff.
What about the seeding?
“I ain’t worried about No. 1,” Fisher said. “We’ll be in the playoff. That’s what matters.”
He paused, and perhaps the steady slide down to No. 4 in the rankings evoked just enough frustration for the dagger.
“That’s an opinion. Ours are facts.”
As in, come beat us if you can. There’s still no question this team hasn’t answered on the field. Georgia Tech chewed up a few seconds shy of 16 minutes of clock and scored three TDs on its first three drives with its patented-option offense. The touchdown drives kept escalating incrementally like reverse contractions: 3:48, 5:57, 6:08, 6:52.
The Seminoles answered with a score every time. That’s what champions do.
“That’s the thing about a great team, if that’s the kind of game we have to play, we’ll do it.” Fisher said. “Last week we had to play a defensive game. The week before that was a low-scoring game for possessions. Sometimes it’s him throwing it; sometimes it’s him running it.”
Of course, “him” and “him” were the two guys sitting to Fisher’s right: Jameis Winston and Dalvin Cook.
What about Winston and those interceptions?
After missing his first two passes, he hit 12 of the next 15 for three touchdowns to give the Seminoles a 28-21 lead. He finished with 309 yards, three TDs and no interceptions. He’s 10-0 in prime-time games, and he averages 334.9 passing yards.
Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson even cracked an of-course-it-happened-to-us smile when asked about Winston.
“Jameis played well,” Johnson said. “He played one of the cleaner games he’s played all season.”
Dalvin Cook averaged 7.1 yards carry with 127 total yards in the first half, including a one-man 75-yard expedition for Florida State’s second touchdown. He finished with 31 carries for 177 yards.
That combination is as good as any that will be in the four-team playoff. That’s not all the Seminoles bring.
Big-time receiver? Rashad Greene, who broke the ACC record for receiving yards, is the answer. Big-time tight end? Just watch Nick O’Leary run free across the deep middle. Perhaps most importantly, a clutch kicker? Roberto Aguayo is good enough to leave early for the NFL.
It’s a team that seems hell-bent on a place in history. A total of 11 teams have won back-to-back national championships in the AP Poll era, and Florida State could be the fourth in the last 25 years. Guess what? Nobody liked Nebraska (1994-95), USC (2003-04) or Alabama (2011-12) all that much once the wins piled up. Fisher even said a burden might have been lifted after last week’s win against Florida.
"Last year's was dominating, this year's team to me the word is more amazing, the resiliency in which they have. They compete together, they excel together. They've had some struggles together, and that's makes them so tight."
Translation? This team is loose, and that’s bad news for whoever is next. Will it be the Crimson Tide? Winston, a Bessemer, Ala., native took that question first.
“I can’t even speak on that right now,” he said. “Oh, my gosh, that would be a dream come true.”
Then Winston, stopped and smiled. He’s the man who’s been asked a million questions on and off the field the last two years. And he’s not afraid to be the answer.
“We can look ahead now,” he said with a laugh. “Yeah, I want to play them real bad.”
Don’t you?
