The last time the Florida State Seminoles were on a football field, they were hoisting the final BCS crystal football national championship trophy, and Tallahassee was on top of the NCAA football world. Several months later, and the Seminoles are still on top of the college football world. Most publications have FSU preseason number one in the land and for good reason. With the majority of their offensive fire-power back, and now a four team play-off, Florida State has the inside track to end up in Dallas, Texas on Monday January 12, 2015 with another chance at the title. First thing is first, the Noles must take on Oklahoma State in that same stadium, to kick-off the 2014 season on August 30th. After that, ACC challengers like Clemson, NC State, Louisville and Miami will block the way. FSU also takes on out of conference powers Florida and Notre Dame. Win, lose, or draw there will be a lot fireworks coming from the state capital.
2013 Florida State Seminoles Season
From start to finish in the regular season, the Seminoles were dominant. The closest margin of victory was 14 points at Boston College. They thoroughly destroyed the 4 ranked opponents they took on in the regular season. The closest any of those four came was 27 points, when the Miami (FL) Hurricanes were soundly defeated, 41-14. As one would expect, the toughest test came in the BCS National Championship game against Auburn. The fell behind 21-3, but clawed back to win 34-31 in a very thrilling game. The entire 2013 schedule is below.
Offense
Heisman Trophy winner 'Famous' Jameis Winston will once again be under center. What will he do for an encore? In 2013 he passed for over 4,000 yards, 66.9% completion percentage, and 40 touchdowns. That broke Chris Weinke's Heisman year of 33 touchdowns in 2000. Winston should have another big year and lead his Seminoles down the field at record pace. His backup, Sean Maguire, played well in relief of Winston last year. Maguire played so well that Jimbo Fisher authorized the release of quarterback Jacob Coker to potential postseason opponent Alabama. The theme all year will be Winston playing a lot. He has a chance to be only the second ever two time Heisman Trophy winner, as Archie Griffin did it with Ohio State in 1974 and 1975.
Devonte Freeman and James Wilder Jr. are gone, but Karlos Williams is not and he is a load. A former safety, Williams is why Wilder Jr. left. Playing time just was not going to be there. Also returning is Ryan Green and Mario Pender, which pretty much fills up the cupboard, but there is more. Freshman Dalvin Cook comes in as one of the most heralded tailbacks in the country and has that break-away speed that makes him elite. Jimbo Fisher is looking to lean more heavily on the run this year. With Williams and Cook, it could be a deadly one-two punch of power and speed.
Kelvin Benjamin was a huge target that will be missed in the receiving unit. His catch with 13 seconds left versus Auburn won the national title. However, the Noles do return four of their top six receivers including the leader in Rashaad Greene. He will be joined by track star Kermit Whitfield, 6' 4" Isaiah Jones, senior Christian Green, and tight end Nick O'Leary, who was a 2013 Mackey Award finalist.
The offensive line is the meat and potatoes of the 2014 Seminoles. Four of the five starters return with 114 career starts. Center Austin Barron, right guard Tre' Jackson, left guard Josue Matias, right tackle Bobby Hart, and left tackle Cameron Erving are all seniors. Add two, 4 star junior college transfer backups and this makes it possibly the best unit in the country.
Defense
All-American nose tackle Timmy Jernigan is gone, but there is plenty of talent left in the cupboard. Mario Edwards and Chris Casher will be at the defensive end positions while Eddie Goldman and Nile Lawrence-Stample are plugging the tackles. This group is experienced and has plenty of help to rotate in order to keep fresh throughout the game. Demarcus Walker, Justin Shanks, and Keith Bryant will all contribute in a big way. This will be one of the most athletic groups in the nation.
This group lost a lot, as Telvin Smith and Christian Jones will be playing on Sunday. An inexperienced group will step in and be asked to mature quickly. The good news is the two-deep roster is very highly touted coming out of high school. Ukeme Eligwe, Terrance Smith, and Reggie Northrup are slotted to start with Matthew Thomas, EJ Levenberry, Nigel Terrel,l and Joseph Hernandez all fighting for time. This group is fast and has five guys who were ranked in the top 10 coming out of high school.
Seven of the top nine defensive backs return from last year for the Noles and this group was ranked among the best in the country. Lamarcus Joyner and Terrence Brooks will be hard to replace, but the return of cornerbacks PJ Williams and Ronald Darby will definitely soften the blow. Jalen Ramsey and Tyler Hunter are phenomenal safeties that will help keep this unit ranked among the very best.
Special Teams
Kicker Roberto Aguayo is just a sophomore and is already looked upon as the best by taking home the Lou Groza Award. Hitting 21 out of 22 field goals will do that. He missed one field goal in this year's spring game. Nevertheless, he should have another good year in 2014.
Cason Beatty at punter is rarely used in this high powered offense. He punted only 42 times in 2013 with an average of 41.1 yards and a net average of 34.5 per kick. He can help flip the field position if need be.
Kick returner Kermit Whitfield returns. The last time the nation remembers seeing Whitfield, the track star was sprinting down the sidelines for a 100 yard kickoff return for a touchdown that helped sparked the Seminoles to their third national title. Most teams will avoid Whitfield, which could give FSU great field position with squib kicks and kickoffs put out of bounds.
2014 Season Outlook
Defending a national championship is almost impossible so Jimbo Fisher has decided to take a different approach. As he says, they are not defending a title because nobody can take that away from them. Their mind set is to go win another one. A tough schedule will make that a daunting task. A four team play-off will add another hurdle. A team that returns a lot of championship veterans will help keep the players motivated. As long as the offensive line stays healthy and Jameis Winston stays upright, a second Heisman Trophy might match a second national title in Tallahassee, Florida. The entire 2014 schedule is below.
The march to the title begins Saturday night August 30, 2014 in Dallas, Texas. Jimbo Fisher hopes to have it end four and a half months later on January 12, 2015 in that same stadium, after winning another national title. Florida State should be favored in all of their games in 2014 and a favorite to get back to the title game.