With the nation’s longest winning streak at 16 games and a returning Heisman Trophy winner at quarterback, it came as little surprise on Thursday that Florida State will begin the 2014 season as the nation’s top-ranked team in the USA Today Coaches Poll. The Seminoles garnered 56 of a possible 62 first place votes and start the year as the nation’s #1 team for the first time since their national championship season of 1999.
Last season, Florida State finished unblemished at 14-0 and capped the year with a 34-31 win over Auburn in the BCS National Championship to halt the SEC’s streak of consecutive BCS titles at seven. Head coach Jimbo Fisher’s roster for 2014 looks to be just as formidable as FSU will wear the target that comes with being defending national champions and preseason #1.
Having quarterback Jameis Winston return will certainly be a huge plus for Florida State, but the offensive arsenal surrounding him may also be one of the nation’s best. Running back Karlos Williams averaged eight yards-per-carry a season ago despite not beginning the season in the offensive backfield while senior Rashad Greene enters 2014 within striking distance of becoming the school’s all-time leading receiver.
Tight end Nick O’Leary has already found the end zone more times than other FSU player to ever play the position. He’ll line up next to an offensive line made up of five seniors and four returning starters — three of whom were named All-ACC in some fashion last season.
Defensively, Florida State will have to replace five starters including a pair of All-Americans in cornerback Lamarcus Joyner and defensive tackle Timmy Jernigan. Though very young, the front seven for Florida State is loaded with a number of former highly-touted recruits while the FSU secondary may be the best in the entire country. Cornerback P.J. Williams and safety Jalen Ramsey are each on the Thorpe Award watch list for the Seminoles as two of the country’s premier defensive backs.
The schedule is a bit more difficult than a season ago for Florida State as FSU adds Oklahoma State and Notre Dame to the non-conference, but overall, it remains manageable. The Seminoles will face seven opponents from last season and against those seven schools in 2013, Florida State won by an average margin of 36 points.
Florida State will get Clemson, Florida and Notre Dame at home for what looks to be three of the tougher games on the slate for 2014. A Halloween Eve trip to Louisville on a Thursday night could potentially put a scare into Florida State as could a mid-November date at rival Miami. Both of those schools however, are losing three-year starters at quarterback.
While being ranked first at the release of the coaches poll on Thursday comes as no surprise, Florida State is well aware that preseason rankings are merely speculation. The Seminoles however, began the year as preseason #1 prior to winning each of their first two national championships in 1993 and 1999. Last year, FSU entered the year ranked 12th in the coaches poll before eventually capturing a third national title.
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