Jameis Winston vs. Wake Forest: Stat Line, Heisman Impact and Reaction

You would never know it to look at the 43-3 final score against Wake Forest, but Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston didn't have a game to remember. He looked sluggish at times, and the concerns about whether or not this year's team is good enough to repeat as champions are valid. 

The 2013 Heisman winner finished Saturday's game 23-of-39 with 297 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Most quarterbacks would be happy with a game like that, but it's not the standard that Winston has set, nor is it one that can lead this year's Seminoles to victory against quality opponents. 

Unlike last year's national title team, this year's Seminoles have shown themselves to be vulnerable on defense. They are 39th in points allowed, gave up 41 points and 520 total yards to NC State and their 104 total points given up through five games is nearly identical to the total they gave up through seven games last year (105). 

Speaking of things that didn't happen until the seventh game last year, ESPN's College Gameday posted on Twitter before the game that Winston's fourth interception this year came four games faster than 2013:

For the record, Winston's interception against Wake Forest was his fifth of the season. He had 10 in 384 attempts last year. 

Even Florida State's 43 points come with a caveat because 15 of them came as the result of field goals from Roberto Aguayo. On a day where Alabama, Oklahoma and Texas A&M lost, not to mention Oregon's defeat on Thursday, Florida State is just happy with the win. 

As far as Winston goes, though, he didn't come to life until late in the game when the outcome was already decided. ESPN's ACC Twitter feed noted that the star quarterback was saved from going without a touchdown pass for the first time in his career thanks to a fourth-quarter hookup with Travis Rudolph:

"

Jameis Winston was in danger of not throwing a touchdown for the first time in his career. He throws a 59-yard TD to Fr. Travis Rudolph

— ESPN ACC (@ESPN_ACC) October 4, 2014"

The feed also noted that Winston appeared to be forcing passes early in the game, which wound up getting him in trouble:

"

Jameis Winston's first three passes were to guys pretty well covered. The third is intercepted. Wake does have a good secondary #WAKEvsFSU

— ESPN ACC (@ESPN_ACC) October 4, 2014"

Going back to the subject of repeating, Winston didn't seem like a huge threat to win another Heisman coming into the game. Aside from the obvious voter bias against making anyone a two-time winner, he's got all the off-field stuff that voters will shy away from and some inconsistent performances this season. 

ESPN released its updated Heisman predictions on October 3, the day after Oregon lost to Arizona. The top of the list includes Georgia running back Todd Gurley and Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota. Winston's name is nowhere to be found, including on the experts' poll that runs nine players deep. 

Rank	Player, School
1	Todd Gurley, RB, Georgia
2	Marcus Mariota, QB, Oregon
3	Amari Cooper, WR, Alabama
4	Ameer Abdullah, RB, Nebraska
5	Kenny Hill, QB, Texas A&M

Going back further than that to September 26, Paul Myerberg of USA Today didn't have Winston among the top 10 Heisman contenders, citing the incident that led to a suspension against Clemson and how he was on the sidelines for what could end up as the most important game of the team's year:

"

All Winston could do was deflect the off-field criticism by playing at a Heisman-caliber level, as he has since ascending to the starting job a season ago. Come Saturday night, however, the suspension left Winston on the sidelines watching, not leading FSU through a season-defining conference matchup.

"

Dustin Tackett of the Orlando Sentinel noted that Winston declared another Florida State player the best offensive talent in the country in his postgame press conference:

Whether or not Winston was joking, Aguayo may have been Florida State's best offensive player against Wake Forest. That's not a good thing when you have a quarterback who at one time had the potential to be the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft. 

The Seminoles have succeeded this year thanks in large part to a schedule that lacks top-tier opponents. Oklahoma State and Clemson are solid opponents but not the kind that should be challenging a championship team. 

Winston and Florida State can silence all of their doubters in two weeks when Notre Dame comes to Tallahassee. Until that happens, though, the questions about how far this team can go are going to keep coming—even in a game where you win by 40 points. 

If you want to talk sports, hit me up on Twitter. 

 @adamwells1985