1. I don’t want to get on a soapbox, but …
It’s over now, the uncertainty and the unknown replaced by the one true winner in the Jameis Winston saga of the last two years: Florida State.
For the first time since the 2013 season — the last time FSU was the winner in the early stages of the Winston saga — the Seminoles are whole again. For the first time since they walked off the field at the Rose Bowl after beating Auburn to win the national title, FSU is without distraction heading into a game.
“I think we’re in a great place now,” said FSU coach Jimbo Fisher.
Think about this: a retired Florida State Supreme Court Justice may have done for FSU what Fisher or Winston or any other member of this elite group of players couldn’t do: make FSU the most dangerous team in the College Football Playoff.
For months we’ve wondered when FSU would finally become the FSU of old, when this collection of NFL talent would play to its potential and win games like the ‘Noles of old — by crushing conviction. They’ve gotten by this fall despite numerous off-field Winston distractions over the last 12 months; some uncontrollable (the looming code of conduct hearing) and some self-inflicted (stealing from a grocery store, screaming vulgarities in the student union).
Now after Winston was cleared of any wrongdoing in FSU’s official code of conduct hearing by former Supreme Court Justice Major Harding, after all obstacles have been cleared, guess who should be considered the team to beat again?
The same team that has won 29 straight games, and hasn’t lost since November of 2012. The same team that has as much talent as last year’s national championship team, but has mysteriously misfired week after week this season.
Only there’s really no mystery to it at all. When the most important player on the field can’t get his life in order off the field, it affects everything. And for the first time since this saga began nearly two years ago, Fisher admitted this week that it has impacted his team.
“We’ve dealt with it in our own way,” Fisher said. “But it’s a relief — especially for (Winston).”
You’re fooling yourself if you don’t think Winston has been impacted by everything that has played out since last January. On numbers alone — across the board — Winston has significantly regressed.
This isn’t about a tougher schedule or being a “target” for every team (FSU has been a target for every team since September 2013) or any other manufactured excuse we’ve heard week after week in Tallahassee.
This is about a player who can’t seem to avoid negative (or, if you’re wearing Garnett and Gold glasses, “foolish”) situations, and how they’ve affected his play. You don’t go from 10 interceptions in 2013 to 17 in 2014 (with statistically better protection and a better run game) without off-field issues creeping into on-field play.
You don’t throw more passes for less yards; your yards per attempt doesn’t drop more than two full yards (10.57 to 8.43) and quarterback rating nearly 40 points (184.8 to 147) if you’re not affected by hiring an attorney and preparing for a code of conduct hearing and worrying about getting kicked out of school in the middle of a season.
All of that is gone now, swept away with one ruling.
All that’s left is a supremely talented team that hasn’t played to its potential because its star quarterback has been distracted all season (and playing with a dinged ankle). By the time the ‘Noles take the field in Pasadena on New Year’s Day, Winston will be completely free of off-field issues — and have rested his bum ankle for nearly a month.
Yeah, this is a dangerous team, all right.
At just the right time.
2. Time for action
Time to go, Kai Nacua. Say goodbye, Chase Johnson.
Those two and anyone else caught on tape punching, kicking, swinging helmets, etc., at another player from the Miami Beach Bowl. There’s no room for it in the game.
Anyone who would stomp on another player when he’s on the ground; who would swing his helmet at another player from behind while the player isn’t looking (Johnson); who would coldcock a player from behind while a coach is pulling a player away from the scrum (Nacua), has no business playing college football.
Go find your local arena2 league or whatever they’re calling semipro ball these days, take your $150-a-game job and get out.
It’s bad enough players are subjected to untold injury on the field in full pads, the last thing anyone needs is a deliberate helmet to the bare head, or a cleat to the body or a fist to the head without protection.
3. More signs of departure
In the last week, two distinct and separate incidents have occurred to further cloud Braxton Miller’s future at Ohio State.
— Miller graduated last week from Ohio State, officially making him eligible to transfer as a graduate student and not lose a year of eligibility.
— Tom Herman, Ohio State’s offensive coordinator and Miller’s coach and confidant, accepted the head-coaching job at Houston.
I know Miller’s father has said his son isn’t leaving Ohio State “unless something drastic happens” but I’m not buying it. Why would he stay and play backup to J.T. Barrett?
More important to his NFL future, why wouldn’t he transfer (Oregon, Oklahoma, UCLA — heck, Alabama) to a championship-ready team and improve his NFL draft stock while potentially leading a new team to a conference and/or national championship?
He has put in three strong years at Ohio State, and helped the program get out from underneath NCAA sanctions and a coaching change. He’ll forever be beloved in Columbus even if he leaves to finish his college career at another school.
It’s a career business decision, not a personal decision. Just like it’s a business decision for Ohio State coach Urban Meyer to back away from his original statement of Miller being his quarterback in 2015.
4. Balancing priorities
Remember when NCAA president Mark Emmert stepped to the podium, puffed out his chest and talked about how football would never again be put ahead of education at Penn State?
Yeah, well, a few short years later — and months after the NCAA eliminated the last shackles from the Lions’ near-death penalty probation — Penn State will soon break ground on $20 million in improvements to its football center.
The goal: make it better than Oregon’s masterpiece facility funded by Nike head Phil Knight.
From this we’ve learned two things: football, like life in the wild, finds a way to adapt and eventually develop stronger than ever.
And, of course, there’s no bigger blowhard in academia than one Mark Emmert.
5. The Weekly Five
Five questions the Pitt search committee asked Michigan State defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi, who reportedly will be the Panthers’ fifth coach in the last six years:
1. “So, tell us about your dreams.”
2. “Have you ever texted, say, 105 players at once?”
3. What do you think of facial hair — specifically, the upper lip?”
4. “How would you like to be the next in line — from Majors to Sherrill to yada, yada, yada, you?”
5. “OK, seriously now, you’re not going to leave after you take the job, right?
6. Wielding the power
Maybe it’s me, but if every major conference in college sports has the power to suspend players for behavior problems on the playing field or court (the latest: Louisville’s Montrezl Harrell ), shouldn’t conferences have the power to suspend players for behavior problems off the field, too?
Discuss.
7. Navigating 2015
Dan Mullen was recently named coach of the year by the Maxwell Club, and he’ll soon sign a lengthy contract extension with Mississippi State after the school’s first 10-win season since 1999.
Not bad for a coach who was staring at the possibility of unemployment midway through the 2013 season, and whose team will move from the elite of the SEC West Division in 2014 back down to the lower half of the division in 2015.
A look at three teams headed for a fall in 2015, and three more headed for big things:
A step back
Florida State: Jameis Winston, the entire offensive line, the best receiver (Rashad Greene), All-American TE Nick O’Leary, and as many as six underclass, draft eligible starters on defense. All gone. You don’t just reload there, especially with a quarterback who will be taking his first collegiate snap (Sean Maguire was a stop-gap backup this season).
Mississippi State: The perfect storm led to the third 10-win season in the history of Mississippi State football. A veteran defense, a senior-laden team and a dynamic quarterback (Dak Prescott) mixed with a fortunate schedule to sell all things Hail State. Then Alabama and Ole Miss happened, and those 12 senior starters (and likely the loss of Prescott, a junior) and defensive coordinator Geoff Collins to Florida, make 2015 look, at best, a significant step back.
UCLA: As much as Jim Mora has accomplished in Westwood (turning around USC’s dominance at the top of the list), his teams were based on the play of QB Brett Hundley. He’ll be gone next year, and true freshman Josh Rosen likely will take his place. UCLA has all the parts to win big next season — except the most important part of all.
A step forward
Arkansas: If Brandon Allen hadn’t gotten hurt late in the season, the Hogs would have beaten Missouri and be riding wins over three ranked teams to finish the regular season. As many as 18 starters return next year, and so does a boatload of confidence from the way this fall ended. A physical, punishing team set to make its mark in the brutal SEC West Division.
Michigan: This comes with a caveat: with Jim Harbaugh as coach, it could be scary good. The roster is set up for what Harbaugh’s teams do best: run with power and play defense. The offensive line is loaded from three elite recruiting classes, and TB Derrick Green is the pile-moving tailback Harbaugh craves.
Texas: It’s fairly simple at Texas: better quarterback play = more wins. That means freshman Jerrod Heard, who redshirted this fall, is the key to everything. Heard took a majority of the No. 2 reps this fall in practice — and most of the scout team reps — to speed up the learning curve. He wasn’t ready last August (see: redshirt), he must be ready in August of 2015.
8. Hokie two-step
Virginia Tech is on the process of giving longtime defensive coordinator Bud Foster an unprecedented five-year contract.
They may has well give him coach-in-waiting status, too.
For those that can’t read between the lines, let me further explain: legendary coach Frank Beamer won’t be around all five of those years, and may not be around past 2015 if the Hokies can’t escape the three-year slide that has produced a 21-17 record (12-12 in ACC).
In other words, you’re not potentially paying an assistant coach four years — a salary that averages out to nearly $1 million a year — to not coach if Beamer retires after next season.
You’re paying him that money to coach your team when your beloved coach (see: Beamer) decides it’s time to step away.
9. Ram tough
So Colorado State is in the process of building a $200 million on campus stadium, and its once stale program is alive again after Jim McElwain revived it before leaving for Florida.
If ever a program needed to hit a long, deep drive of a home run hire to keep the momentum going, it’s CSU. Enter, former Georgia offensive coordinator — and fan whipping boy — Mike Bobo.
A strong recruiter (in the south). A history of coaching in big games (in the south). A guy who has played quarterback and been around offenses and calling plays for all of his football life (in the south).
Plopped in the middle of the Mountain West Conference with absolutely zero connections.
Yeah, this is going to work famously.
10. All about the khakis
I don’t know if this is a deal-breaker, but there’s no Wal-Mart in Ann Arbor.
In case that’s, you know, an issue for Jim Harbaugh.