Jameis Winston vs. Syracuse: Stats, Highlights and Twitter Reaction

After a ho-hum performance last week, Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston got back on track with a solid showing on the road against ACC rival Syracuse in a 38-20 win. The Seminoles dominated on offense with 482 yards and were good enough on defense in the red zone to keep their undefeated season intact. 

There was some uncertainty about how Winston would respond in this game after ESPN's Mark Schlabach reported the 2013 Heisman winner will "face a disciplinary hearing into charges about whether he sexually assaulted an FSU student in December 2012."

If that was on Winston's mind, you would never know it during the game. He had one of his best games of the season, going 16-of-19 with 181 yards and two touchdowns in the first half to give the Seminoles a 24-6 lead. That trend would continue into the second half. Here's his full stat line from the victory:

Comp.-Att.	Passing Yards	Yds/Pass	TD-INT
30-36	317	8.8	3-0

In addition to the efficiency which he operated, Winston's performance was notable because he moved ahead of fellow Heisman winner Charlie Ward on the school's all-time passing touchdown list, per ESPN Stats & Info:

ESPN College Football's official Twitter feed provided highlights of Winston's 21-yard touchdown pass to Nick O'Leary that moved him ahead of Ward:

Winston currently has 51 passing touchdowns, trailing Chris Weinke on Florida State's all-time touchdown list by 28. Unless he returns to school for his junior season, it's unlikely the controversial quarterback will end his Seminole career in the top spot. 

The win was also notable because Winston tied former Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy's record of 19 consecutive victories, per ESPN's College Gameday:

Of all the passes Winston threw on Saturday, his best might have been on Florida State's first drive of the second half. He marched them down the field by going 6-of-7 then finished things off with a beautiful touch pass in the back of the end zone to Jesus Wilson. Brendan Sonnone of The Orlando Sentinel raved about the pass:

It was a beautiful pass from Winston and catch by Wilson, but it was helped out by the fact that Syracuse's secondary looked confused and was playing out of position a lot. Winston more or less just lobbed the ball into a spot where no one was looking even though there were four guys around the area. 

Another reason for Winston's success against Syracuse, as noted by Ben Jones of Rivals, was how conservative the offensive play calling was:

Jones does give Winston credit for making a handful of terrific throws in the game, but more than half of his completions (18) went for 10 yards or less. A lot of the success came as the result of Florida State players breaking tackles and making plays in the open field. 

Credit Winston for putting his receivers and running backs in a position to turn up field and make plays, but you want to see something a little more dynamic from a quarterback with his ability. Given his erratic play this season—Winston did have five interceptions in four games coming into this week—you can't blame Fisher for taking a conservative approach. 

With Notre Dame coming to Tallahassee next week, Winston and Florida State have to get a lot better in a hurry in order to keep this 20-game winning streak dating back to last season going. 

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