Jameis Winston was clutch as usual in FSU's win over Oklahoma State. (Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports)
ARLINGTON, Texas — Quarterback Jameis Winston passed for 370 yards with a touchdown passing and rushing in Florida State’s 37-31 victory over Oklahoma State on Saturday.
The victory marked the defending national champion Seminoles’ 17th consecutive triumph.
Winston’s 50-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Rashad Greene with 3:58 left sealed the Seminoles’ victory.
Roberto Aguayo kicked three field goals for Florida State, among them a 37-yarder with 5:13 left.
Defensive back Nate Andrews scored the Seminoles’ first touchdown, a 9-yard interception return midway through the first quarter. Running back Mario Pender also had a rushing touchdown for Florida State.
Quarterback J.W. Walsh, a junior from Denton Guyer, had 203 yards passing and a touchdown — 55 yards to wide receiver David Glidden — and two rushing touchdowns for Oklahoma State.
Oklahoma State running back Desmond Roland had a rushing touchdown.
Florida State entered a heavy favorite with 15 starters returning from 2013’s 14-0 national-championship team, while Oklahoma State was starting anew after losing 28 seniors off a 10-3 team.
A mismatch it appeared to be as the Seminoles showed early why prognosticators believed the preseason consensus No. 1 team in the nation would return here in January and play for a second consecutive national championship after Florida State’s all-white uniforms flashed across the stadium’s carpet in racing to a 17-0 lead.
The Cowboys didn’t help themselves with two mistakes early.
Oklahoma State began its second drive from their own 2 after bungling the ensuing kickoff after the Seminoles’ 36-yard field goal by Aguayo on their opening drive.
On the first play from scrimmage, Walsh’s pass attempt was intercepted by Andrews, who trotted in from 9 yards and a Seminoles 10-0 lead.
After holding Florida State to a punt, Oklahoma State wide receiver Tyreek Hill returned the ball 28 yards to near midfield. The gain, though, was cut by 15 yards because of an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.
The Cowboys could have used those yards after moving the ball into Florida State territory but missing on a 42-yard field-goal attempt.
Oklahoma State’s defense kept the Cowboys in the game early even after Pender’s 11-yard scoring run increased Florida State’s lead to 17-0.
Roland’s 1-yard touchdown was much-needed for Oklahoma State, which intercepted Winston twice in the first half.
The second by Ashton Lampkin at midfield resulted in Ben Grogan’s 37-yard field goal at the end of the half that cut the Seminoles’ lead to 17-10.
NOTES: Florida State sophomore LB Chris Casher, who did not participate in the Seminoles’ final practice before leaving for Texas, was scratched from the starting lineup and did not play. Casher, who played in 13 games as a redshirt freshman a season ago, has an academic issue waiting to be cleared up, according to the university. He was replaced by sophomore DeMarcus Walker. … The game was the sixth in the Cowboys Classic series. … This is the fifth matchup between the teams, dating to the 1958 Bluegrass Bowl in Louisville, Ky. … Florida State QB Jameis Winston became the second Heisman Trophy winner to play in the Cowboys Classic. Sam Bradford was the first in the inaugural year of 2009.
