SEMINOLES ON A ROLL
In dismantling Clemson, FSU shows it’s the best in the nation
CLEMSON, S.C. — Jameis Winston is the best player in the country.
Florida State is the best team in the country.
I know it, you know it and now the entire nation knows it, too, after watching Winston and the No. 5-ranked Seminoles destroy Clemson 51-14 on this surreal South Carolina Saturday night. That’s right, FSU scored more points in venerable Death Valley than any opponent in history and made Clemson look like Nevada. The Seminoles’ methodical dismantling of the No. 3-ranked team in the country proves to me that not even big, bad Alabama can hang with the Seminoles. The seal-clubbing of Clemson is the singular most impressive victory by any team in the nation this season.
And how ironic that on the same day Texas A&M’s Johnny Football exited the Heisman race, Jameis Enthrall not only entered it, but he may also be on the verge of lapping the field.
Winston, FSU’s captivating freshman quarterback, absolutely riddled Clemson. He threw for 444 yards and three touchdowns, pulled
the plug on the Death Valley, dazzled Heisman voters and, most important, showed the nation that the Seminoles — if they keep winning — deserve to play for the national championship. Especially when you consider high-powered Clemson came into the game averaging 51points per game and was held to just 14 points by FSU’s defense.
Remarkably, the Seminoles did it in what all of the experts called the biggest game in Atlantic Coast Conference history; a game in which two Top 5 opponents went head-to-head with conference and national title ramifications riding on the outcome.
In the Southeastern Conference, as one SEC snob mockingly tweeted the other day, they have another name for a matchup like this: It’s called Saturday. Florida State-Clemson was a matchup even the high-and-mighty SECwould have drooled over. Especially when you consider what happened in the SEC Saturday when Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Texas A&Mand LSUall lost.
It seems only appropriate that FSU-Clemson overshadowed every game played in the SEC Saturday. If ever there were two SECesque football programs misplaced in the basketballbonkers ACC, it is the Tigers and Seminoles.
Philosophically and geographically, both Clemson and Florida State are clearly more like SEC schools than ACCschools. Football is their pride and passion. Their three favorite sports are football, spring football and football recruiting. They adhere to that fanatical SEC philosophy: “College football is not a matter of life and death; it is much more important than that!”
Like SEC venues, the stadiums at FSUand Clemson are big, loud and proud just as Death Valley was Saturday night when Tiger fans attempted to set the Guinness World Records mark for decibel level in a football stadium. Unfortunately for Clemson, all Death Valley did was breathe life into Winston’s Heisman campaign and show the country howmuch better FSUis than the rest of the ACC. In FSU’s two games against ranked ACC opponents this year — Clemson and Maryland — the Seminoles have won by a combined score of114-14.
It was an insult to coach Jimbo Fisher’s Seminoles that all of the national preseason publications picked Clemson to win the ACC this year. The Seminoles won the title last season and they will win the title this season. And they will win it next season and the season after that, too. Fisher has FSUpoised to dominate the ACCfor years to come, much like Bobby Bowden did during his1990s heyday.
It’s no secret that Fisher is a Nick Saban disciple who built his program at FSUin the Saban mold — with discipline, defense and downhill running. Except nowhe has an incredible quarterback whohas turned FSUfrom merely dominant to magically dynamic.
Jameis Winston is the best player in the country.
Florida State is the best team in the country.
If you don’t believe me, ask the Clemson Tigers.
Or what’s left of them.