Oh how sweet it is in Tallahassee these days. Florida State is back in the conversation of being a dominant program again and it mostly comes at the courtesy of their lead chef, redshirt freshman quarterback "Famous Jameis" Winston. It took 78 years for a freshman to win the Heisman Trophy, but it is looking like their may be a chance that it could happen for the second year in a row. After Saturday's performance against Maryland, Winston may be putting himself in position to do just that.
Winston completed 23 of 32 passes for 393 yards and five touchdowns with no interceptions before being replaced early in the fourth quarter. He left with the Seminoles leading the #25th ranked Terrapins 49-0. He also ran seven times for 24 yards. Highlighting his day was an incredible 12-yard TD pass to Nick O'Leary that would have made even David Copperfield blush.
His performance was reminiscent of the first start of his career, a 41-13 win over Pittsburgh where he completed 25 of 27 passes for 356 yards and four touchdowns and ran for another score. For the season, he has completed 90 of 123 passes for 1,441 yards and 17 touchdowns, with two interceptions.
To date, Winston is currently on track to surpass perhaps the greatest passing season for a freshman whose distinction belongs to former Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford. In 2006, as a redshirt freshman, Bradford threw for 3,121 yards and an NCAA record 36 touchdowns. He also had a completion percentage of 69.5 which is an FBS record for highest percentage of passes completed by a freshman. Winston is already at the halfway point of these marks with a completion percentage of 73.2. This comes with seven games remaining on the schedule.
While the Heisman may be a tall mountain to climb considering the competition of outstanding players who are in the running, keep in mind that a win against Clemson in Week 8 and a great performance could catapult Winston into the top 3 conversation. Famous Jameis is the talk of the country and seems ready to serve up more delicious treats throughout the season.
