Give me one reason why Florida State is No. 1 in the AP poll.
Just one…
Still waiting.
Oh, they won the title last year. And to that I say, Tennessee won in 1998, they should be No. 1 in the AP poll because I completely disregard my eyes and go off previous years results.
Florida State has played like a middle-of-the-road, power conference team with three tight wins: all nice wins, but they’re not taking teams behind the woodshed like the unstoppable juggernaut they were last year.
They’re more in the category of Baylor, Mississippi State and Nebraska, rather than sitting at the head of college football’s most prestigious table with the likes of Oregon, Oklahoma and Alabama.
Let’s go game by game to break down the Seminoles’ less than stellar case for a shot at the playoff.
Week 1: A narrow 6 point win over Oklahoma State. Now, I don’t want to discredit the quality of opponents but rather highlight the flaws of the Noles. The Cowboys are a good team, and should finish very high in the Big 12 if a few things go their way, but they’re not in contention for a national championship—they’re not that type of team.
Winston threw 15 incompletions and two interceptions. Florida State was not able to pull away from the Cowboys due to their mistakes, but held on in the end despite trying very hard to blow a 17-point lead.
Week 2: An unimpressive win over The Citadel. It may be unethical or unsportsmanlike but FBS teams bring in FCS teams to serve as punching bags. I’m not saying you should run up the score, but you should win by more than 25 points. Especially when teams like Michigan, one of the worst teams in the country, can go up by over 50 in their dismantling of Appalachian State.
Now, don’t get me wrong, the Noles were never even close to losing this game and they benched everyone late, but despite the fact that the BCS is gone, teams still need to look good on paper and put up absurd numbers to ensure their spot in the final four.
Week 3: Then the Winston suspension happened. As much as I’d love to spew 200 words on that, this is a football column, not an opinion piece on the behavior of student athletes.
It’s hard to win without your best player and emotional leader, I’m not disputing that. But Winston doesn’t play defense, and the “best team in college football” according to the AP should be able to befuddle opposing offenses. Unfortunately, the Noles’ defense is giving up 25 points a game, which is 66th in the FBS: slightly less than average.
Week 4: The Seminole defense continued to be a great big sieve and gave up 41 to NC State. Fortunately, their offense bounced back and the Noles won in a shootout. Regardless, the FSU rushing attack is abysmal—and I’m not just saying that because we’re pampered Badger fans. Florida State is only averaging 123 rushing yards per game, and that’s with a dual threat quarterback. Thats 103rd in the country. The bottom 20 percent.
So here’s the verdict. 3 wins by one score or less, less than average defense, horrible rushing attack.
How can you look at those three points and say they’re the best team in college football? How can you infer that they’d beat any other team in the country on a neutral field? It makes no sense.
Down with the AP poll’s supposed champion.
Think Florida State has been looking better than Grey is giving them credit? More of an Oregon or Alabama person? Let Grey know at gsatterfield@wisc.edu and @gsatterfield45 on Twitter.
