The big news in Tallahassee this week has without a doubt become the suspension of reigning Heisman Trophy winner and Florida State sophomore quarterback Jameis Winston for the first half of Saturday’s highly anticipated ACC opener against 22nd-ranked Clemson. While sophomore Sean Maguire’s first half performance will be critical to the outcome for top-ranked Florida State, Winston’s early absence will give the Seminoles the opportunity to showcase how complete of a team they really are.
Love him or hate him, Winston is without question one of the best players in America. He’s a Heisman winner that has yet to lose a start. He’s a national champion. He’s the unquestioned face of the Florida State program. What he isn’t however, is the program.
As Maguire makes his first career start on Saturday, he’ll have plenty of talent around him to help get the job done. The offensive line protecting Maguire is comprised of five seniors with well over 100 combined starts. Two of which, tackle Cameron Erving and guard Tre’ Jackson, were almost unanimous All-American selections in the preseason.
Maguire’s targets will consist of two of the most accomplished Florida State players ever at their positions.
Last season, Rashad Greene became just the third Florida State receiver to lead the Seminoles in receiving in three straight seasons. After a stellar start to 2014, the senior is on pace to easily eclipse Ron Sellers’ FSU career mark for receiving yards. Against Clemson last season, Greene finished with 146 yards receiving and two touchdowns.
Senior tight end Nick O’Leary has already found the end zone more times than any other Seminole ever to play that position. In last year’s 51-14 win at Clemson, the Tigers had no answer for O’Leary as he finished the night with 161 yards receiving which included a career-long 94 yard grab and a bone-crushing forearm to a Clemson tackler that still makes FSU fans giddy.
Many believe that the ACC and perhaps the season will hang in the balance at Doak Campbell Stadium on Saturday. Carrying the load for the Florida State ground game will be a senior, who has arguably saved the Seminoles’ season in each of the last two years.
Running back Karlos Williams’ fake punt late in the first half against Auburn in the BCS National Championship in January served as the catalyst for a three-touchdown turnaround as the Seminoles stunned the SEC to take home the crystal trophy. While playing safety the season before, his interception of Georgia Tech’s Tevin Washington in the waning moments in Charlotte gave Florida State its first ACC title in seven years.
Defensively, the Seminoles are equally as talented. In last season’s meeting, Florida State held the potent Clemson starting offense to just one touchdown before the second team scored in mop-up duty.
Equaling the starting offensive output by the Tigers in last year’s contest was defensive end Mario Edwards Jr. Edwards returned a Clemson fumble 37 yards for a touchdown to help set the tone and give FSU a 17-0 first quarter lead. At nearly 300 pounds, Edwards is an athletic freak with the capability to not only rush the passer, but to track down opposing rushers.
The lone returning starter from a linebackers corps that helped the Seminoles yield the fewest points-per-game in the nation last season, junior Terrance Smith may be the fastest player the Tigers see all season at that position.
The heart of the Florida State defense is the secondary. Last season, Florida State led the nation in interceptions and could arguably be even better in the defensive backfield this year.
P.J. Williams and Ronald Darby are each stellar cover corners while preseason All-American safety Jalen Ramsey and junior Tyler Hunter have done nothing, but make plays in the secondary. Last season’s interception leader for Florida State, Nate Andrews, will line up just about anywhere and already has a pick-six to his name in 2014.
In last season’s meeting, the FSU secondary held Clemson quarterback Tajh Boyd, the ACC’s all-time leader in touchdown passes, to a meager 17-for-37 passing with two interceptions.
As talented as the Seminoles are on offense and defense, Florida State also possesses two of the bigger special teams weapons in the country. Sophomore kicker Roberto Aguayo is the reigning Lou Groza Award winner and a remarkable 27-for-28 on field goal attempts for his career.
In the return game, Florida State may have the fastest player in the country in Kermit Whitfield. Whitfield returned a pair of kickoffs for scores last season including a 100-yard return in the fourth quarter of the BCS National Championship against Auburn to give the Seminoles a 27-24 lead.
Though the suspension of Winston will steal most of the headlines heading into Saturday’s ACC opener, Florida State is in no way a one-man team. The Seminoles have talent at virtually every position and after a summer of hearing how good they were going to be, Florida State will have the opportunity to show what they’re made of mentally against Clemson on Saturday.
FSU has not been as sharp as many had hoped early on in 2014, but with its star quarterback suspended for a half and adversity staring it in the face, the Seminoles will have a prime time platform to prove how complete they are as a team and that the road to the ACC and national championships still run through Tallahassee.
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