Melina Vastola-USA TODAY Sports
Every week, it seems like the college football world just assumes that Florida State will eventually get some love, but that should no longer be the case. Folks, it’s Week 6 and the Seminoles are still undefeated after a 63-0 thrashing of previously-undefeated Maryland, so the fact they’re still near the bottom of the top 10 is getting more and more questionable.
Now the first thing that pops off the page is the fact the Noles put up 63 points against a top-25 team that was undefeated entering the game. Not only that, but the Terps had the third-best defense and the 26th-best offense in the country coming in to the contest as they were averaging nearly 40 points on offense and only allowing 10 points on defense. So this was not only an eye-opening experience for Maryland, it speaks volumes about Florida State’s defense.
The shutout will only lower the Noles’ average of 15 points allowed per game this year, which will be critical when they travel to Clemson to take on the undefeated, third-ranked Tigers in two weeks. Everyone knows Jameis Winston is capable of putting up 400 yards and five touchdowns like he did against Maryland and like he could easily do against Clemson, so it will be critical for the Seminoles’ defense to stop the Tigers’ high-flying offense just often enough to win a shootout.
But before we get too far ahead of ourselves, Florida State needs to be bumped up a bit in the college football top 25 rankings before then, so we could actually see two top-five teams square off in Clemson come Week 8. But in the meantime, give love Winston and the Noles, folks. They’re for real.
