Jameis Winston Will Shine in Florida State's Showdown vs. Notre Dame

For all the noise that has surrounded Jameis Winston throughout his tenure as Florida State's quarterback, one thing that's never changed is what happens between the lines. There's no reason to expect anything different on Saturday night against Notre Dame. 

Winston's latest off-field controversy involves the signing of memorabilia. Florida State has been investigating the matter, though athletic director Stan Wilcox said in a statement released Friday that there's no information, via ESPN.com:

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At this time we have no information indicating that he accepted payment for items reported to bear his signature, thereby compromising his athletics eligibility. The fact that items appear on an Internet site bearing the signature of a student-athlete does not singularly determine a violation of NCAA rules.

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Due to the investigation, there was some uncertainty whether or not Winston would be allowed to play this week against Notre Dame. Georgia has been investigating a similar situation involving star running back Todd Gurley and indefinitely suspended him as a result. 

Head coach Jimbo Fisher squashed any notion that Florida State would or should suspend Winston during the investigation in an appearance on ESPN Radio's Mike & Mike, via Warchant.com:

Everyone outside of Florida State wants to talk about what Winston needs to do or how the school isn't doing him any favors. Bo Jackson went on The Jim Rome Show, via Chase Goodbread of NFL.com, to say that he's done trying to mentor the 2013 Heisman winner:

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I'm the type of person, I will go out of my way to help anybody. Normally, I don't like giving people advice if I haven't been down that road myself. But if I give you advice on something that I know more about than you by just falling out of bed in the morning, if you can't take that advice and learn from it, then I've got nothing else to do with the situation. You're on your own.

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Former Florida State coach Bobby Bowden said in an interview with ESPN, via Nick Bromberg of Yahoo Sports, that Winston has "got to grow up."

None of this ever seems to stop Winston from looking like the defending Heisman winner at kickoff. He may not be playing at the same level he was in 2013, but how many teams would love a quarterback completing 70 percent of his passes with 1,605 yards and 11 touchdowns in five games?

Oh, per ESPN's College Football, Winston also has the best winning percentage among active FBS quarterbacks:

Everett Golson deserves a lot of credit for helping the Fighting Irish start 6-0 this season, though he's also been mistake-prone in the last few weeks. The senior quarterback has thrown all four of his interceptions in the last three weeks and lost five fumbles during that span. 

Plus, Winston will be going against a Notre Dame defense that just gave up 43 points and 510 yards to North Carolina. Do you think he's not licking his chops trying to get after this group after seeing that shootout last week?

Some athletes have an ability to compartmentalize things. Winston told Kevin Armstrong of The New York Daily News that his peace comes on game day:

"When you get in between those lines," Winston said, "all the cameras and stuff, all the cameras are on you, and we’re out there playing football, man."

No one will ever accuse Winston of being a model citizen. There are times when the off-field antics—whether it's shouting an obscene phrase on campus, being cited for shoplifting crab legs or the autograph investigation—seem like they are too much and threaten to overwhelm the program. 

Then you see the talent on the field and how naturally the game comes to Winston. He's going to have no problems putting everything on the back burner for a marquee matchup like the one at Doak Walker Stadium on Saturday. 

The Seminoles need Winston to be great, and he's consistently lived up to the challenge when anyone has doubted him. This game with Notre Dame won't be any different. 

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