Jameis Winston vs. Notre Dame: Stat Line, Heisman Impact and Reaction
Jameis Winston has already proven he can take a beating off the field. Saturday night, Notre Dame found out he can take one on it just fine too.
The reigning Heisman winner threw for 273 yards and two touchdowns, helping catalyze a second-half comeback in Florida State's 31-27 win over Notre Dame. After an up-and-down first half, Winston completed 15 of his 16 passes in the second half to lead the Seminoles to three touchdowns on their five meaningful drives in the final 30 minutes.
| 23/31 | 273 | 8.8 | 2 | 1 | 75.2 |
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Karlos Williams punched in two of those scores from one yard out, but make no mistake about it, Winston was running a one-man show. The running game, led by Williams and Dalvin Cook, combined for 45 yards on 20 carries. Third downs and high-priority situations were all left up to Winston, and time and again he prospered.
Perhaps his best play of the game came on a 15-yard dart he threw to Rashad Greene to set up Williams' game-winning score. Scrambling across his body and falling down, Winston uncorked a strike to Greene on the sideline down to the Notre Dame 3-yard line. Pressure was a constant all game long, as Notre Dame consistently got pressure in both four-man rushes and overload blitzes.
In the first half, Winston threw what was perhaps the worst interception of his collegiate career in the second quarter, sending a dead-on-arrival floater into the hands of Joe Schmidt as pressure came barreling down. Four of the Seminoles' first five drives finished with either a three-and-out or a turnover.
But on-field perseverance is par for the Winston course. He did it amid a sexual assault investigation during his Heisman-winning campaign, came back strong after a tumultuous offseason and again on Saturday when an off-the-field investigation threatened his future. Winston was so good in the face of pressure that even some repeat talks sprung anew, such as this one from Dan Wetzel of Yahoo Sports:
Winston's Heisman chances remain shrouded in a cloud of uncertainty, if only because Winston's future is totally uncertain. Florida State is currently investigating whether the Heisman winner was paid for the more than 2,000 items bearing his signature that were authenticated by James Spence Authentication, per ESPN.com's Darren Rovell.
Florida State athletic director Stan Wilcox released a statement Friday, indicating there was no evidence that Winston received payment.
"We have no information indicating that he accepted payment for items reported to bear his signature, thereby compromising his athletics eligibility," Wilcox said, per Sean Rossman of the Tallahassee Democrat. "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."
If he's eventually found guilty of wrongdoing, whatever chance Winston has of winning the Heisman obviously goes out the window—his college career might be out the window. Even if Winston is eventually cleared, the lingering stigma surrounding controversies like these often play a factor come postseason awards time.
Former Heisman winner Hershel Walker appeared on the Paul Finebaum Show Thursday and said he would not vote for Winston "until his act is cleaned up."
"I don't know Coach Fisher. He's probably ready to kick my butt, but I think he is enabling him right now," Walker said, via David Ching of ESPN.com. "Because remember he's putting his reputation—he's a fine coach—he's putting his reputation on Jameis Winston's words saying, 'I did not do that.' Well, he put his reputation when he said he can't be found guilty on these other things, which we know he's guilty of."
When factoring in Winston's other off-the-field transgressions—including notably missing the Seminoles' win over Clemson because of a suspension—the odds of a repeat remain decidedly low.
There is a sect of the Heisman-voting community who will not vote for Winston simply because they feel he does not fit the "excellence with integrity" requirement of the award. It's a treatment similar to the one given to Johnny Manziel by some enterprising writers last season.
Speaking bluntly, I'd bet the tuition of my first born on the field winning over Winston. His numbers are worse in every single major category than his freshman season, even though as Matt Hinton of Grantland pointed out, that's somewhat due to actual improvements he's made as a quarterback.
He is the most polarizing player in the sport—love him, hate him, whatever. Everyone has an opinion on Winston, and that's not the type of player who wins the Heisman.
Heisman winners are the feel-good sort. Manziel won when he was the smiling 21st-century Fran Tarkenton, the boy next door we called Johnny Football—not when he was the dude who hangs out with Drake.
Winston won as the leader of arguably the most dominant team of this century, as the smiling, unflappably confident kid who looked like a lock to be a No. 1 overall pick—not when he's yelling in student unions and being investigated due to an autograph scandal.
Jameis Winston is a spectacularly talented football player. Anyone who tries saying otherwise is deserving of whatever "hater" synonym you'd like to bestow. He might be the best player in college football, the best prospect of the 2015 NFL draft class and the most captivating personality in the sport.
But if Winston wants another trophy before he takes his talents to Sundays, it'll probably have to be of the team sort. After Saturday, the Seminoles are well on their way.
Follow Tyler Conway (@tylerconway22) on Twitter.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
.jpg?w=600 "Colts Release Kenny Moore")
