Jameis Winston rallied FSU to a win yet again. (David Manning-USA TODAY Sports)
What does it take to kill Florida State? A wooden stake, a silver bullet, holy water?
The Seminoles have become something of the big, bad villain in college football. First of all, they’re the defending national champs, stomping on underdog stories and squashing others’ dreams. And then there’s the polarizing Jameis Winston, the Heisman-winning quarterback who, if nothing else, is at least guilty of being a remorseless knucklehead at times, not the easiest guy to root for.
But set emotion aside for a second. Man, Florida State is fun to watch.
The Seminoles are the last undefeated team from a Power 5 conference, and feel free to admire how they’ve done it.
Last year’s team was a rumbling tank, flattening foes. This year’s team just finds a way.
FSU rallied from a pair of 16-point deficits at Miami on Saturday night, finishing the game on a 24-3 run to win 30-26. That marked the third time this season the Seminoles have rallied after trailing by at least 15 points.
“Everybody has flaws,” said Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher. “But this team here, they believe in each other.”
FSU has needed all that belief while posting comebacks against Clemson, North Carolina State, Notre Dame, Louisville and Miami. Five comebacks, a total of 68 points overcome.
It’s hard to tell what the College Football Playoff selection committee will make of FSU’s latest rabbit-out-of-the-hat victory. The nation’s No. 1 team, Mississippi State, lost at Alabama. The No. 2 team, one-loss Oregon, was idle. Then, there’s No. 3 Florida State, whose overall resume is diminishing because it has no victories over a team that is currently ranked.
Doesn’t much matter right now. The mid-November debate over body of work and schedule strength won’t apply to Florida State if it’s still undefeated after the first week of December. What’s left are home games against Boston College and Florida before the ACC title game.
It doesn’t sound likely that any team, before the playoff, will drive that stake into the heart of the Seminoles, who have won 26 consecutive games while their evil laugh echoes across college football.
Five things we think we learned in week 12
1. This playoff thing is awesomely chaotic. Our best guess for the top four teams in the new selection committee rankings that come out Tuesday: No. 1 Oregon, No. 2 Alabama, No. 3 Florida State, No. 4 Mississippi State. Sorry, SEC haters. The Tide’s 25-20 win over the Bulldogs keeps the SEC very much in play for two teams in the playoff.
2. Never turn off an Arizona game. The Wildcats, for the second time this season, won on the final play, this time getting a 47-yard field goal from Casey Skowron to beat Washington 27-26 after improbably recovering a fumble with 1:23 left. Earlier this season, a 47-yard Hail Mary beat Cal. Six Arizona games have been decided by a touchdown or less, and Rich Rodriguez’s team has won five of those.
3. Will Muschamp will be in demand. Reports Sunday morning said he was out as head coach of Florida. No surprise. The final indignity was having a field goal and a punt blocked by South Carolina late in the fourth quarter, as the Gators eventually dropped a 23-20 decision in overtime in The Swamp. But he’ll land somewhere nice as a defensive coordinator.
4. UCLA is not done. The Bruins were idle on Saturday but got the result they needed late Saturday night when Oregon State upset visiting Arizona State. That shifted control of a stacked Pac-12 South race back to the 8-2 Bruins, who have won four in a row and can earn a rematch against Oregon in the conference championship game if they beat USC this Saturday and Stanford a week later, both at the Rose Bowl.
5. Steve Spurrier never disappoints. In his press conference following South Carolina’s overtime win at Florida, he dropped in a jab to state rival Clemson, saying, “I guess the Upstate team got beat today.” Yeah, and the Tigers’ star freshman quarterback Deshaun Watson left the 28-6 loss to Georgia Tech with a knee injury.
Five top Heisman candidates
1. Marcus Mariota, QB, Oregon. Mississippi State QB Dak Prescott failed to have his Heisman moment while losing at Alabama, so Mariota doesn’t have to share the driver’s seat any more.
2. Melvin Gordon, RB, Wisconsin. You know about his FBS-record 408 rushing yards against Nebraska — in only three quarters! — but what’s even more impressive is this nugget: Gordon is averaging 13.4 yards per carry against ranked teams.
3. Amari Cooper, WR, Alabama. He plays on the right team, makes highlight catches seemingly every week, and backs it all up with numbers — 87 catches for 1,303 yards and 11 touchdowns.
4. J.T Barrett, QB, Ohio State. A week after posting five total touchdowns against Michigan State, he led the Buckeyes to a cold-weather win at stubborn Minnesota, throwing for 200 yards and three touchdowns, while rushing 17 times for a career-high 189 yards and a score.
5. Trevone Boykin, QB, TCU. He passed for 330 yards as the Horned Frogs avoided disaster by rallying to beat Kansas 34-30. Next up: A Thanksgiving showdown at Texas, which is finding its groove under coach Charlie Strong.
Five mid-major developments
1. Somebody is going to hire Mark Hudspeth, and soon. The former Mississippi State assistant signed a six-year contract extension at Louisiana-Lafayette after last season, but you know what would happen if an SEC school came calling. The Ragin’ Cajuns have won six in a row and are battling newbie Georgia Southern for the Sun Belt title.
2. Utah State has overcome injuries. The Aggies’ lost linebacker Kyler Fackrell, an NFL prospect, in their first game, star quarterback Chuckie Keeton in the third game and two other quarterbacks along the way. Down to a fourth-stringer, Utah State has still managed to be 8-3 overall and 5-1 in the Mountain West, a remarkable job by coach Matt Wells.
3. Jeff Brohm is rolling at Western Kentucky. The former NFL quarterback and assistant to Bobby Petrino knows what he’s doing on offense. Brandon Doughty is second nationally with 3,507 passing yards and Leon Allen ran for 345 yards against Army on Saturday.
4. SMU can’t catch a break. The Mustangs had a golden chance to win their first game, leading USF 13-0 in the fourth quarter. Then the Bulls went on a 21-play, 75-yard drive, capped by a 4-yard touchdown pass with four seconds left, to pull out a 14-13 victory.
5. Kansas should just hire interim coach Clint Bowen. OK, so the Jayhawks aren’t technically a mid-major (they just barely play like one), but Bowen has rallied the players and the program after the dismissal of Charlie Weis. KU followed a win over Iowa State with Saturday’s encouraging 34-30 close-call loss to TCU.
Five best week 13 games
1. USC at UCLA, Saturday, 8 p.m. ET (ABC). For UCLA, it’s simple. Beat the cross-town Trojans and then Stanford, and the Bruins are the champs of the Pac-12 South. USC needs a win here and for ASU (vs. Washington State, at Arizona) to lose in order to win the division.
2. Arizona at Utah, Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET (ESPN). This is a darn fine warm-up act in the Pac-12 South before the showcase event in Pasadena. It’s the Cardiac Cats vs. the Unyielding Utes. Each team has played six games decided by a touchdown or less, Utah thrice going into overtime.
3. Wisconsin at Iowa, Saturday (Time/TV TBA). The Hawkeyes are still in the running for the Big Ten West, but you’re tuning in for one reason only: to see what Melvin Gordon will do next.
4. Kansas State at West Virginia, Thursday, 7 p.m. ET (FOX Sports 1). Let’s face it, it’s not a great slate of games this week, with most of the SEC taking its annual late-season breather. There’s good entertainment value here to kick-start the week, with receivers Tyler Lockett of K-State and Kevin White of the Mountaineers.
5. Yale at Harvard, Saturday, 12:30 p.m. (NBC Sports Network). Harvard is going for the perfect 10-0 season. Yale is 8-1 and looking to snap a seven-game losing streak to the Crimson in The Game. ESPN GameDay, taking advantage of this week’s FBS lull, will be in Cambridge, Mass., for the 131st meeting.
NFLDraftScout.com: Film Room Review
Analyst Rob Rang’s five prospect takeaways for this week. Players listed including position, school, year (Height, weight and current NFLDraftScout.com overall rating and by position).
1. OL Cameron Erving, Florida State, Sr. (6-5, 309, #76/#9 OT): After protecting QB Jameis Winston’s blind side for 22 games, Erving made his first career start at center against Miami. As he did at tackle, Ervin displayed a remarkable combination of size and athleticism, regularly sealing blockers and getting to the second level of the defense.
2. RB David Cobb, Minnesota, Sr. (5-11, 229, #133/#12): His touches were limited with the Gophers playing from behind, but Cobb did display his powerful style in the loss to Ohio State. More efficient than dynamic, scouts will appreciate Cobb’s ability to slip past defenders and finish runs.
3. QB Dak Prescott, Mississippi State, rJr. (6-1, 230, #59/#4): Critics of his ability to transfer his success to the NFL will have plenty of ammunition with Prescott’s performance in the loss to Alabama, including three critical interceptions, the first of which was badly forced into coverage
4. WR Amari Cooper, Alabama, Jr. (6-8, 275, #4/#1): Other than his 50-yard grab, Cooper was largely held in check with seven other catches for 38 yards, but he still showed off the traits that will earn him a high first-round selection in April, including terrific hand-eye coordination and awareness to high-point passes on two big completions.
5. TE Clive Walford, Miami, Sr. (6-4, 263, #145/#7): Walford displayed impressive acceleration to challenge down the seam in catching four passes for 127 yards. His agility and speed make him a potential mismatch, but Walford’s inconsistency through his career is why he’s projected as a Day Three selection.
