In one of the more dramatic finishes of the BCS era, Kelvin Benjamin’s 2-yard touchdown grab against Auburn gave Florida State its first national championship in 14 years. After what some consider a lost decade, Florida State’s rise back to the top of college football was a long, arduous journey. The Seminoles endured three six-loss seasons, an academic cheating scandal and the forcing out of a legend that built the program.
In what will be a 10-part series, we take a look back on events that led to Florida State’s resurgence back to the top of the college football world. After finishing in the top 5 every year from 1987 until 2000, the Seminoles went 13 years without winning a major bowl game. The countdown’s order is mostly chronological rather than in terms of importance. In the final part of our series, we look at Florida State and head coach Jimbo Fisher winning the recruiting battle for quarterback Jameis Winston.
After winning 10 games in his first season as Florida State’s head coach, Jimbo Fisher was coming off of a bit of a disappointing 2011 campaign. After beginning the season ranked in the top 10, Florida State had hit a streak of three straight losses early in the year which eliminated it from the national championship and ACC race. The Seminoles would finish strong however by winning seven of their final eight games to finish 9-4 and Fisher’s third recruiting class was shaping up to be a great one.
Fisher and the Seminoles had landed two of the nation’s top defensive linemen in 5-star recruits Eddie Goldman and Mario Edwards Jr., but it wasn’t long before Florida State would realize that the headliner of the class was quarterback Jameis Winston.
A two-sport star from Bessemer, Alabama, Winston had all the tools to succeed as a major college quarterback. The battle for Winston ultimately came down to Florida State and the school that played its home games virtually in Winston’s back yard — Alabama.
The pursuit of Winston was so strong that Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban came to visit Winston multiple times in person to make his case for the Hueytown High School quarterback to attend school in Tuscaloosa. Multiple face-to-face visits were hardly par for the course for Saban, who had just won his third national championship and second in three years.
Despite Saban’s pursuit of Winston and Alabama’s recent success, Winston chose to play for Fisher and Florida State on February 3rd. Fisher was 19-8 in his first two seasons as the head man in Tallahassee, but signing Winston made the future for FSU much brighter.
The Seminoles had a proud history at quarterback. Charlie Ward, another two-sport star and Chris Weinke had each won Heisman Trophies while leading Florida State to national championship. Others like Casey Weldon, Brad Johnson and Danny Kannell all went on to star at Florida State and have long careers in the National Football League.
From 2001-07, Florida State had hit a dry spell with quarterbacks as the Seminoles started six different players at the position. Stability would eventually arrive as Christian Ponder led FSU to its first 10-win season in seven years as a senior in 2010. During Winston’s redshirt year of 2012, senior E.J. Manuel quarterbacked the Seminoles to their first ACC Championship since 2005.
While Ponder and Manuel helped bring Florida State back to respectability, there was hope that Winston could bring the Seminoles back to elite status.
In the spring of 2013, Winston found himself in a three-way battle for the starting quarterback job with veteran Clint Trickett and fellow Alabamian, Jacob Coker. In April’s Garnet and Gold game, Winston separated himself from the others by completing 12 of 15 pass attempts for 205 yards and a pair of scores.
Trickett would eventually transfer to West Virginia and after a hotly-contested battle with Coker that ran into fall practice, Winston was named the the starter for Florida State’s 2013 season-opener against Pittsburgh on Labor Day.
The September 2nd contest did not get off to the greatest of starts for Florida State as the Seminoles fell behind 7-0 early. In his FSU debut however, Winston stole the show by connecting on 92 percent of his 27 pass attempts before finishing with 356 yards passing and accounting for five total touchdowns in a 41-13 Florida State victory.
Over the next four weeks, Winston would prove to be one of the nation’s best players. Winston not only put up huge numbers, but made highlight reel plays in the process including a Hail Mary to close the first half against Boston College in which Winston eluded three Eagle defenders before finding Kenny Shaw for a 55-yard touchdown.
In his first match-up against a ranked team, Winston put on a show. Against #25 Maryland, Winston passed for 393 yards and five touchdowns as the Seminoles blew out the Terrapins in Tallahassee, 63-0. Over the next three games, Florida State would take on top 10 opponents in Clemson and Miami, but Winston and the Seminoles just kept rolling.
On the road versus third-ranked Clemson, Winston accounted for 444 yards passing and four total touchdowns as Florida State scored more points than any opponent ever at the place known as “Death Valley” and left with a 51-14 victory. Two weeks later, FSU pounded rival and seventh-ranked Miami, 41-14 in Tallahassee.
Sexual assault allegations stemming from an incident that took place in 2012 put a bit of a damper on a stellar season for Winston and Florida State, but in early December, state attorney Willie Meggs announced that no charges would be filed.
Winston and the Seminoles went on to rout Duke 45-7 to earn a second straight ACC title. FSU was 13-0, ranked first in the country and had played just one contest decided by fewer than 27 points. Winston had thrown for nearly 4,000 yards and 38 touchdowns.
One week after leading Florida State to a second straight ACC championship, Winston became the third Seminole and just second freshman ever to win the Heisman Trophy. He and his teammates then turned their attention to SEC champion, Auburn, as the teams would meet for the final BCS National Championship.
On Winston’s 20th birthday and against a team from his home state, the Seminoles faced the Tigers in Pasadena. Despite being a double-digit favorite, Florida State looked to be in trouble trailing 21-3 late in the first half.
It was Winston’s most pedestrian game yet as the redshirt freshman was routinely hit, even fumbling once in his own territory. With everything on the line, Florida State would rally to take a 27-24 lead, but Auburn’s Tre Mason scored from 37 yards out with 1:19 to play. Auburn led 31-27, but Winston and the Seminoles would get one last shot.
Neither Florida State nor Jameis Winston had been in such a pressure-packed situation all year long, but with just over a minute to play and beginning from his own 20-yard-line, Winston seemed unfazed as a perfect season hung in the balance.
On the final drive of his freshman season, Winston complete six of seven passes. After a pass interference call gave Florida State a first down at the Auburn 2-yard-line with 17 seconds to play, Fisher put the game and national title in Winston’s hands. On a play-action pass call, Winston threw high for receiver Kelvin Benjamin, who went up to make a leaping grab in the end zone. 13 seconds later, the Seminoles were national champions for the first time in 14 years.
Prior to ever taking a snap for Florida State, Winston had become a star on campus. Whether it was his charismatic personality, throwing a football over a fraternity house or throwing runners out from the FSU outfield, Winston was hardly a stranger to the spotlight. What Winston was able to do on the gridiron in 2013 however, will forever immortalize “Famous Jameis” in Seminole lore.
Florida State’s run to the 2013 national championship was not a one-man show, but on a team perennially laden with talent, it was Winston that would prove to be the missing piece between FSU and a return to college football’s summit. In just two years on campus, Winston has proven to be a real talent and a vocal leader. What lies in store for the future of Florida State football remains to be seen, but after a decade of underachievement, one thing is for now is certain: the Seminoles are back.
Related Articles
Reasons for Seminole Resurgence: #2 Stability at QB
Reasons for Seminole Resurgence: #3 Winning the ACC
Reasons for Seminole Resurgence: #4 Ability to Rise to the Occasion
Reasons for Seminole Resurgence: #5 Beating Florida
Reasons for Seminole Resurgence: #6 Fisher’s First Class
Reasons for Seminole Resurgence: #7 Emphasizing Defense
Reasons for Seminole Resurgence: #8 Maintaining a Championship Atmosphere
Reasons for Seminole Resurgence: #9 2009′s Strong Finish
Reasons for Seminole Resurgence: #10 Hiring Jimbo Fisher
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