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| ISBN-13: | 9781623687892 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Triumph Books |
| Publication date: | 01/31/2014 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 128 |
| File size: | 98 MB |
| Note: | This product may take a few minutes to download. |
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No1es!
Florida State's Resurgent 2013 Championship Season
By Florida State University
Triumph Books
Copyright © 2014 Triumph Books LLCAll rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-62368-789-2
CHAPTER 1
BCS National Championship Game
January 6, 2014 • Pasadena, California Florida State 34, Auburn 31
An Instant Classic
With Just 13 Seconds Remaining, TD Seals FSU's Third National Championship
In a season of dominating performances, Florida State was bound to have a nail-biter.
If there was one question about FSU's résumé, the knock on an otherwise stellar and dominating season, it was that the Seminoles hadn't faced a situation where their backs were against the wall.
FSU had indeed rallied from a 17–3 deficit at Boston College to take a 48–34 victory. And pulled away after leading Miami at the half 21–14 to win 41–14.
But what if the Seminoles were trailing in the fourth quarter? How would FSU react — and could they come back? And could they do it against an SEC team?
The critics were wrong to doubt. FSU needed not one but two comebacks for the program's third national title.
Freshman quarterback Jameis Winston, fighting through his worst night during a Heisman Trophy season, was staring down two major problems: Auburn's defense was protecting 80 yards of green grass, and there was just 1 minute and 12 seconds on the clock.
So Winston, who was celebrating his 20th birthday, took charge in a moment that will live on in championship game history. In a stadium that has hosted 100 Rose Bowls and plenty of Super Bowls, Winston provided late-game drama that was up there with some of the finest performances of all-time in the stadium.
"I wanted to be in that situation because that's what great quarterbacks do," Winston said. "That's what the Tom Bradys, Peyton Mannings, Drew Brees, that's what they do."
Winston began to complete passes like he had done all season. He was 6-of-7 on the drive, including a 49-yard catch-and-run by Rashad Greene that set up FSU at the Auburn 23.
And with 13 seconds left, after a seesaw five minutes to wrap up the final BCS championship game, Winston found Kelvin Benjamin in the end zone for a 2-yard touchdown reception that gave Florida State a 34–31 victory at the Rose Bowl.
Jimbo Fisher won his first national title in January 2004 as LSU's offensive coordinator. On Monday night, he won a title in his fourth season as FSU's head coach.
Fisher's predecessor, coaching legend Bobby Bowden, was on the sideline as an honorary captain on Monday. Bowden won national titles with FSU in 1993 and '99, and he always said one of his hopes was to play in a Rose Bowl.
It never came true, but on Monday, Bowden was able to watch the program that he built win a title.
This was all part of Fisher's plan when he took over from Bowden in 2010. Fisher felt that FSU could be playing for a national title in 4 to 5 years.
He built one impressive signing class after another and created a team that is No. 1 in 2013. But he also rebuilt a program. FSU is most certainly back.
"It's been a four-year evolution to put ourselves in this opportunity," Fisher said. "We talked about being a program and we wanted to do things right and we wanted to build the foundation. These guys have given their hearts and souls to us as coaches, and it's been unbelievable."
And FSU needed every minute to pull out the victory.
The Seminoles rallied from an 18-point deficit, going ahead 27–24 with 4:31 to go on Kermit Whitfield's 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.
The Seminoles appeared to have completed the rally.
Auburn answered, using a 37-yard touchdown by Tre Mason to go up 31–27 with 1:19 to go. Mason had 195 of Auburn's 232 rushing yards.
The Tigers appeared to have pulled off yet another miracle.
But then Winston put together a seven-play, 80-yard touchdown drive in just 58 seconds. On first-and-goal from the 2, he found Benjamin over the middle for the game-winner with just 13 seconds to go.
"It's the best football game he played all year, and I'll tell you why," Fisher said. "Because for three quarters he was up and down, and he fought. And just like any great player, some nights you don't have it.
"When you can come back like the great ones do, it's not my night, but we've got a chance to win this ballgame. It's the fourth quarter, I've got one or two touches left and you can take your team down the field and lead them to victory, that's what a great player is to me."
Winston was far from great early, completing just 11-of-24 passes for 120 yards in the first three quarters. But he finished by going 9-of-11 for 107 yards in the fourth quarter, including an 11-yard touchdown run to Chad Abram with 10:55 to go and the final touchdown to Benjamin.
The Heisman Trophy winner became the 14th player to win college football's most prestigious award and also claim a national title in the same season. FSU's Charlie Ward (1993) was among the group to do both.
FSU won its third national title exactly 20 years after its first and became the fourth team in the BCS era to finish the season 14–0. It was the last national title game of the BCS, and it was arguably one of the best, on par with the Vince Young-led Texas win over USC in the 2006 Rose Bowl.
And three Seminoles will have their names among the best in a single season as they crossed the 1,000-yard plateau.
Running back Devonta Freeman had 73 rushing yards to give him 1,016 in his junior season. He is Florida State's first 1,000-yard rusher since Warrick Dunn in 1996. Freeman is just the eighth 1,000-yard rusher in school history.
Rashad Greene and Kelvin Benjamin became the first duo to have 1,000 receiving yards in a season since E.G. Green and Andre Cooper in 1995. Greene finished with 1,128 yards and Benjamin had 1,011 yards.
FSU also secured the FBS scoring record, putting up 723 points to snap the previous record held by Oklahoma in 2008 (716).
While the defense allowed Tre Mason to run for 195 yards, FSU also made the adjustments in the second half. The Seminoles kept Auburn off the scoreboard in the third quarter before allowing a touchdown and a field goal in the fourth quarter.
But in many ways, it was Winston who won it by again playing like a senior in the final minutes.
Winston grew up just a half hour from Alabama's campus and two hours from Auburn's campus. He considered both, along with Stanford and LSU, before choosing FSU in February 2012.
Now Winston and FSU have snapped the Southeastern Conference's seven-year winning streak in the BCS championship game. FSU won the first BCS title in 1999, and now it has the last one in 2013.
"I'm pretty sure people back home are going to say five championships in the state of Alabama because of me being from Alabama," Winston said. "Alabama people are going to try to keep it in their state however they can, but Florida State has the national championship."
CHAPTER 2Jameis Winston – Reigning Heisman Trophy Winner
Winston's Storybook Moment
Heisman Winner Shrugs Off Slow Start to Take Offensive MVP Honors
It was the worst possible time for Jameis Winston to have his first freshman moment.
Cool and unflappable through Florida State's 2013 campaign, the reigning Heisman Trophy winner spent the first half of the BCS National Championship Game at the Rose Bowl looking like a first-year player straining under the weight of college football's biggest stage.
But in a game loaded with drama, Winston found his best when the spotlight shined brightest.
With his Seminoles trailing No. 2 Auburn by four points and 1:19 on the clock, Winston completed 6-of-7 passes for 77 yards and a 2-yard touchdown to Kelvin Benjamin that lifted FSU to a 34–31 victory and its first national title since 1999.
The Bessemer, Alabama, native, who celebrated his 20th birthday on Jan. 6, completed 20-of-35 passes for 237 yards and two touchdowns and was named the game's offensive Most Valuable Player.
"That's a storybook moment right there," Winston said. "I'm just so excited for our guys, man ... and all I can say now is that we're champions. That's what matters to me."
For the game's first 30 minutes, Florida State looked like a much different team than the one that had romped through its schedule and Winston looked like a much different quarterback.
His throws missed the mark — sometimes close and sometimes by a wide margin. He was initially reluctant to throw the ball, often opting to tuck and run as open receivers ran downfield.
And Winston found himself constantly harassed by an Auburn pass rush that sacked him four times.
Winston went into the half having completed just 6 of his 15 passes and fumbled away a ball that Auburn parlayed into a touchdown that extended its lead to 21–3.
"[Auburn's defense] kept things mixed up," FSU coach Jimbo Fisher said. "I think they got pressure on him. They covered tightly, and we dropped some balls."
As the game shifted into the third and four quarters, though, Winston slowly began to find his rhythm. Fisher called several short and intermediate routes, allowing Winston and his receiving corps to get in sync.
He struck for his first touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter, an 11-yarder to fullback Chad Abram that essentially completed FSU's comeback from an 18-point deficit and cut Auburn's lead to 21–10.
Then, after a wild final five minutes in which FSU took a fourth-quarter lead then surrendered it on Auburn's subsequent drive, Winston stepped into the huddle at his 20 yard line with the national championship hanging in the balance.
"He was calm," junior receiver Rashad Greene said. "And he knew it wasn't over yet."
Winston would have his say before the end. He first hit Greene for a quick 8yard completion that stopped the clock when Greene went out of bounds.
Then he hooked up with Greene again on a similar play, but this time Greene made his defender miss and took off, 49 yards down the sideline to put Auburn on its heels.
Four plays later, after Auburn's Chris Davis was flagged for pass interference in the end zone, Winston found Benjamin running across the face of the end zone, a step in front of AU's defender. The throw and catch made it look easy. FSU reclaimed the lead, 34–31, and the 13 seconds left on the clock weren't enough for the Tigers to find any more magic.
"I was ready," Winston said. "I wanted to be in that situation because that's what great quarterbacks do. That's what the Tom Bradys, Peyton Mannings, Drew Brees, that's what they do. Any quarterback can go out there and perform when they're up 50–0 in the second quarter."
CHAPTER 3Jimbo Fisher
Head Coach
Fisher Returns FSU Program to Glory
There were plenty of times in the 2010 season when Jimbo Fisher's frustration was visible. The steam was building inside over the struggles of reshaping Florida State's football program.
In November 2010 FSU's promising 6–1 start began to turn very ugly. There were back-to-back losses: first at North Carolina State 28–24 on a goal-line fumble in the final minute and then 37–35 at home against North Carolina, which threw for 439 yards (and FSU also missed two field goals in the fourth quarter).
FSU was 6–3 and slipping back to its late 2000s form. In his first year after taking over for Bobby Bowden, Fisher then let loose a geyser of emotions at his Monday press conference following the loss to the Tar Heels.
"This team has to learn to develop a killer instinct," Fisher said in a raised voice during a lengthy rant, "and not hope to win but understand how to win. There's nobody on this football team that has. There's nobody on this football team that has reached that level and understands what it takes."
Fisher was calling out his players. FSU in 2010 was loaded with players that had never even won an ACC title, something the Seminoles had accomplished on an almost annual basis in the 1990s. He was challenging them to prepare and practice harder, to play smarter.
The wins and losses from 2010 reminded that the rebuilding job wouldn't be achieved in a season. Fisher knew that it would take time and he often referenced "the process." And that it would take the right mind-set by the players, which he emphasized as a need to change the culture from one that accepted a few losses here and there to one that couldn't stand losing.
Fast forward three years, and Fisher has led FSU to back-to-back ACC titles and now a national title. In four years he's built more than a championship team. It's what he thinks is a program that will be able to sustain success for the long haul.
"What I love about what we're doing right now — we're becoming a program," Fisher said. "I've always said that teams come and go. Programs sustain the test of time."
The past few seasons, it was clear that Fisher and his staff were on the right track. And it was evident that the players were responding to the challenge.
Fisher and his staff recruited better, but it was more than just winning the services of five-stars and four-star players. It was finding the right athlete who was willing to not just bring his talent to Tallahassee, but also would be coachable and self-motivated. And it wasn't about making himself better, but also those in his position group and then the team.
The results began to show the progress, first on the recruiting trail as top players signed each February to play for FSU. But still every season there was a stumble or two. Even 2012, a season that saw an ACC title and an Orange Bowl win, ended 12–2. There was celebration but also disappointment, too. It was a not-so-subtle reminder that FSU was improving year-to-year but not yet achieving what it should as a program.
That's why fans took the 2012 losses so hard. FSU was supposed to have learned plenty from the losses.
This was a veteran team with a senior quarterback, playmakers, and pass rushers. But those losses at N.C. State and home against Florida were a reminder of what happens when you let your guard down and don't prepare well.
Remove 11 players that were drafted, including a trio of first-rounders in quarterback EJ Manuel, defensive end Bjoern Werner, and cornerback Xavier Rhodes. Remove seven starters on defense. Take away six assistant coaches.
Fisher made the right decisions this offseason, hiring defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt (a two-time national champion as an assistant at Alabama) and surrounding him with experienced assistants. He also brought in quarterbacks coach Randy Sanders, a former Tennessee assistant who had coached Peyton Manning in the mid-1990s.
And Fisher chose redshirt freshman Jameis Winston in August, finally ending the summer-long drama over who would start at quarterback.
Through all the losses and the influx of new assistants, FSU made progress in 2013 and is 14–0. A regular season in which there were 13 wins and all but one of them a completely dominating performance.
"We had 11 guys drafted last year; 14 guys signed pro contracts," Fisher said. "We're able to come back with the senior leadership and some young guys that incorporate the program and our assistant coaches. And that's what we want. We want to be a program, not a team."
These Seminoles had to lose at first to understand how much more they needed to push each other and themselves to win. The players are having fun out on the field, of course, but what drives them more often than not is that they hate to lose.
The losses of 2010, 2011, and 2012 shaped the winning of 2013.
"We did envision this after last season because we left a lot out there on the table," senior linebacker Telvin Smith said. "We felt it was so much that we were supposed to accomplish."
What FSU has accomplished is building a program that aspires to do something special. Part of it was the chase for the national title. But the other aspect is restoring the program to where it once stood under Bowden in the 1990s and back to being a program that's one of the best — and in 2013 the No. 1 team — in the nation.
CHAPTER 4Florida State vs. Pittsburgh
September 2, 2013 • Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Florida State 41, Pittsburgh 13
Monday Night Madness
Winston Nearly Perfect in Collegiate Debut
By the time all the months of preseason hype and legend melted into Florida State's season-opening kickoff, it seemed virtually impossible that quarterback Jameis Winston could live up to the mountain of expectations that rested upon his shoulders.
In the end, though, defying conventional logic may have been the least of Winston's accomplishments in Florida State's season opener.
With a national audience watching and a sold-out Heinz Field setting the stage for Winston's collegiate debut, the redshirt freshman wasn't as good as advertised. He was better.
Winston completed 25 of 27 passes for 356 yards and accounted for five total touchdowns to lead No. 11 Florida State to an emphatic 41–13 victory over the Pittsburgh Panthers.
"I was so anxious. Everyone was excited," Winston said. "It's Monday Night Football. We're in college, playing on Monday Night Football in a pro stadium? I was so pumped for that."
The win is FSU's fourth in as many season openers under Jimbo Fisher. The Panthers, who made their Atlantic Coast Conference debut, started 0-1 for the second consecutive year under coach Paul Chryst.
The Panthers appeared ready to make things interesting with a first drive that went 80 yards in nine plays and ended with a 4-yard touchdown pass from Tom Savage to Manasseh Garner.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from No1es! by Florida State University. Copyright © 2014 Triumph Books LLC. Excerpted by permission of Triumph Books.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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Table of Contents
Contents
Introduction,BCS National Championship Game,
Jameis Winston – Reigning Heisman Trophy Winner,
Jimbo Fisher,
Florida State vs. Pittsburgh,
Florida State vs. Nevada,
Florida State vs. Bethune-Cookman,
Florida State vs. Boston College,
Florida State vs. Maryland,
Florida State vs. Clemson,
A Trio of Targets,
Florida State vs. North Carolina State,
Devonta Freeman,
Florida State vs. Miami,
Florida State vs. Wake Forest,
Florida State vs. Syracuse,
Jeremy Pruitt,
Florida State vs. Idaho,
Florida State vs. Florida,
ACC Championship Game,
Jameis Winston,