Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston had three touchdowns to Kelvin Benjamin as No. 2 Florida State (12-0, 8-0 ACC) blew out Florida (4-8, 3-5 SEC) in Gainesville, 37-7. Florida State now heads to the ACC Championship Game, where a win will more than likely clinch a spot in the BCS Championship Game.
In his final regular season game of the year, Winston completed 19 of 31 pass attempts for 327 yards and three touchdowns, and he was intercepted once in the first half. It was a slow start for Winston and the Florida State offense, but they found their rhythm in plenty of time to take firm control of the game against a weakened Florida team. Florida State head coach Jimbo Fisher did not let Winston lose his composure either in the second half, grabbing Winston by the face mask to get in his ear when tensions seemed to be rising on the field. The objective is clear for Florida State is clear right now. Take care of what you can on the field and win one more game. There is no need to get caught up in nonsense at this point of the game and season, and keeping a young player like Winston focused on that ultimate goal is good coaching, especially considering all fo the off-field drama floating above Winston.
As far as on-field performance is concerned, Winston did nothing to suggest he should not be the leading candidate for the Heisman Trophy. Another fine performance next week to lead Florida State to an ACC title could be the clincher.
Florida State’s opponent in next week’s ACC Championship Game will be Duke, who hung on for a road win at North Carolina while Florida State’s game was being played. Duke intercepted a late fourth quarter pass to seal a victory in Chapel Hill to clinch the ACC Coastal Division. This will be Florida State’s second straight ACC Championship Game appearance after defeating Georgia Tech last year.
Florida’s season is now complete, and perhaps that is a good thing. The Gators won just four games this season and ended the year with a woeful seven-game losing streak marred by losses to Georgia, Georgia Southern, Vanderbilt and Florida State. The talk about Will Muschamp being on a hot seat may be legitimate, but there has been no indication he could be looking for a job to this point. Florida AD Jeremy Foley has backed Muschamp and Florida did win 11 games last season. There is work to be done, and it appears Muschamp will be there to do it.