Jameis Winston (5) was still very visible in FSU's comeback win against Clemson. (
Florida State survived the latest Jameis Winston crisis.
The Seminoles’ Heisman-winning quarterback still showed his tone-deafness when he walked onto the Doan Campbell field before Saturday night’s game against Clemson in full pads — suspension means you’re not going to play, Jameis — and you can make the case that he shouldn’t have been on the sideline at all.
In this, Florida State was culpable in simply letting him be there, letting the TV cameras focus on him, just as perhaps the program and the institution has been, so far, lax in addressing Winston’s behavior, ranging from knucklehead (shoplifting crab legs in April) to potentially criminal (allegations of rape from a fellow student). No charges were filed, but the university is still investigating.
He was suspended for the first half of the Clemson game, until he was suspended for all of it. At least Florida State eventually came to the right punishment for Winston shouting an obscene, vulgar comment toward women in the student union earlier in the week. Winston now has the distinction of being suspended in two sports (baseball, football) in the same calendar year.
With so much at stake, for him personally and for the defending national champion Seminoles, everyone would do well to demand that Winston simply keep his head down when he doesn’t have the football in his hands. He’s fortunate his actions didn’t cost his team a shot at the inaugural four-team College Football Playoff.
With backup Sean Maguire at the controls, Florida State wasn’t able to overcome Clemson until winning 23-17 in overtime. That spared the playoff selection committee the anguish of having to later evaluate a Seminoles team whose only setback came without its star quarterback.
What now? Coach Jimbo Fisher says Winston will be back for this week’s game at North Carolina State, and the schedule is set up for mostly clear sailing. FSU gets Notre Dame and a still-questionable Florida team at home. Road challenges are merely potentially warm (Louisville) or tepid (Miami).
Maguire and the ‘Noles were able to navigate a win over Clemson without Winston, but the game underscored how much they need him. Minus his running ability, the Tigers teed off on FSU’s ground game and just about had the game won until Maguire connected with Rashad Green on a 74-yard bomb to tie it at 17. Florida State was largely out-played, but Clemson squandered too many chances.
And now Winston gets another.
If he’s learned his lesson this time, FSU will be back playing for the national title.
Five things we learned in week 4
1. Clemson has its quarterback. True freshman Deshaun Watson has supplanted senior Cole Stoudt, and the future looks bright. Watson, a legit dual threat, was 19 of 28 for 266 yards, with no interceptions, against a Florida State defense stuffed with future pros. It only gets easier for him from here.
2. Michigan’s Brady Hoke and Florida’s Will Muschamp are officially on notice. The Wolverines’ home loss to Utah and the Gators’ sloppy loss at Alabama turns the discussion to a full-time blast about their job security. Hoke has only four wins in his past 14 games against Big 5 conference teams and Notre Dame.
3. The Big 12 has a lot of tough outs. Oklahoma and Baylor remain potentially elite, basically co-favorites in the league. But Kansas State nearly upset Auburn last week, Oklahoma State earlier gave Florida State all it could handle, West Virginia has a devastating passing game with Clint Trickett throwing to Kevin White and Mario Alford, TCU still plays defense and Texas is … well, still Texas. The full round-robin league play is going to be fun.
4. Jameis Winston’s Heisman candidacy is done. Archie Griffin is still safe as the only two-time Heisman winner. Winston missed a spotlight game, and the character issue will be a factor — not for all, but enough — if he does play his way back into consideration.
5. Taylor Heinicke is the best quarterback you’ve never heard of. You’ve never heard of him because he plays at Old Dominion, which moved up from the FCS to Conference USA this season. Heinicke, a senior and former winner of the Walter Payton Award — the FCS version of the Heisman — threw for 430 yards and five touchdowns as ODU claimed its first conference win, 45-42 over Rice.
Five coaches who had good weeks
1. Dan Mullen, Mississippi State head coach. His sneaky-good Mississippi State team isn’t sneaky any more. The Bulldogs won 34-29 at LSU’s Death Valley — at night in front of the largest crowd in school history. Mullen’s defensive line can win any game, and quarterback Dak Prescott has an excess of savvy. A few more victories like this in the mind-boggingly difficult SEC West, and Mullen can write his ticket to anywhere.
2. Rich Rodriguez, Arizona head coach. While the school that fired him, Michigan, flamed out at home against Utah, utterly lost on offense, RichRod’s Wildcats hung 36 fourth-quarter points on Cal, winning 49-45 on a Hail Mary pass.
3. Lincoln Riley, East Carolina offensive coordinator. The Mike Leach discipline uses a more-diverse attack than his mentor, a full-service approach to modern offensive football. The Pirates smacked North Carolina with 70 points on Saturday … and Riley’s future is all right in front of him. He’s still a baby-faced 31 years old.
4. Lane Kiffin, Alabama offensive coordinator. It can be fun, and often all-too-easy, to criticize Kiffin, but he was nearly pitch-perfect in the Tide’s 42-21 win over Florida. He excels at creating mismatches for big plays (and great personnel helps), and now he’s combining that with an increasingly fast tempo that suits quarterback Blake Sims. Alabama ran 87 plays Saturday and topped 600 yards for the second time in four games.
5. Kyle Whittingham, Utah head coach. Most everyone east of Utah will focus on the Michigan side of Utes’ 26-10 win in the Big House, but the Pac-12 will notice. That salty defense Utah showed — 308 yards allowed, four turnovers, no touchdowns given up on defense — is more of what the league thought it was getting when importing the Utes from the Mountain West.
Five running backs to watch
1. Wisconsin’s Melvin Gordon. The preseason All-American started slowly in two games and then did what he does best — accelerate. Gordon ran for 253 yards and five touchdowns — on a scant 13 carries — in a rout of Bowling Green.
2. Nebraska’s Ameer Abdullah. Fear Ameer? Absolutely. It was a true workhorse performance as he ran 35 times for 229 yards in a win over Miami.
3. Indiana’s Tevin Coleman. Gordon and Abdullah are fantastic, but Coleman leads the Big Ten — and the nation — in rushing. His 132 yards helped the Hoosiers’ upset Missouri on Saturday.
4. Oklahoma’s Samaje Perine. The 243-pound true freshman stepped in for injured Keith Ford and dump-trucked West Virginia defenders on his way to 242 yards and four touchdowns. Who needs Joe Mixon, right?
5. Pittsburgh’s James Conner. Big back already has 110 carries for 699 yards. Although Pitt took a step back with a loss to Iowa, Conner and the Panthers are going to have plenty to say about the ACC Coastal race.
Five best week 5 games
1. UCLA at Arizona State, Thursday, 10 p.m. ET, Fox Sports 1. Huge game in the Pac-12 South, but X-factors abound. ASU is without starting quarterback Taylor Kelly (foot), and mum’s the word so far on UCLA quarterback Brett Hundley’s elbow (although reports were optimistic he’ll be able to play).
2. Missouri at South Carolina, Saturday, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN. This will help figure out the SEC East. The matchup lost luster with the Tigers’ loss to Indiana, but ESPN’s GameDay will be there in a so-so week on paper.
3. Stanford at Washington, Saturday, 4:15 p.m. ET, FOX. Can anyone figure out Huskies? When they’ve been good, they’ve been really good. Statement game opportunity for Chris Petersen in Seattle.
4. Florida State at North Carolina State, Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET, ABC. Jameis Winston returns. The Wolf Pack is 4-0 and has won three of the past four meetings in Raleigh.
5. Arkansas vs. Texas A&M, Saturday, 3:30 p.m., CBS (Arlington, Texas). The former Southwest Conference foes get together to compare the offensive skills of Aggies quarterback Kenny Hill with Razorbacks running backs Alex Collins and Jonathan Williams.
NFLDraftScout.com: Film Room Review
Senior Analyst Rob Rang’s five takeaways on how prospects performed in Week 4. Players listed including position, school, year (Height, weight and current NFLDraftScout.com overall rating and by position).
1. DE/OLB Vic Beasley, Clemson, rSr. (6-2, 235, #12/#1): Beasley’s team lost a heartbreaker to Florida State, but Beasley stood out in his matchup against Cameron Erving, the No. 4-rated senior tackle by NFLDraftScout.com. Beasley’s rare burst and underrated combination of hand play and upper body strength took over as the game went on, and he finished with a pair of sacks.
2. OT Brandon Scherff, Iowa, rSr. (6-5, 320, #5/#2): Scherff routinely drove defenders off the line in the running game and provided stellar pass protection against Pittsburgh. While not as physically talented as top-rated tackle Cedric Ogbuehi, Scherff is powerful and the more polished prospect.
3. OG Matt Rotheram, Pittsburgh, Sr. (6-5, 340, #575/FA): Rotheram stood out for most of the game in his matchup against All-Big Ten DT Carl Davis. Rotheram’s showed off his own veteran savvy, demonstrating the combination of size, strength and quickness to possibly earn late-round consideration.
4. SS Landon Collins, Alabama, Jr. (6-0, 215, #1/#1): Collins was all over the field against Florida, showing off his range and instincts in coverage and crashing the line of scrimmage against the run. He even provided excellent coverage on punts and supplied a key block to set up a big kickoff return.
5. WR Amari Cooper, Alabama, Jr. (6-1, 202, #14/#2): In hauling in 10 passes for 201 yards and three touchdowns, Cooper was particularly effective when working out of the slot. On pace to shatter Alabama’s receiving records, Cooper looks like a strong bet to give the school its first Biletnikoff Award winner.
Every Sunday, TSX national football columnist Anthony Gimino dives into the top topic in college football with 20 items of note from the weekend and NFLDraftScout.com senior Rob Rang breaks down five prospects who stood out on Saturday.
