Florida State Football: Early Odds for the Seminoles' Team MVP

No. 2 Florida State is undefeated and facing a well-timed bye before next week’s Thursday night game at Louisville.

The Seminoles have positioned themselves nicely in the quest for a College Football Playoff berth thanks to some strong play by four players in particular this season. Let’s take a look at FSU’s early favorites for team MVP.

Jameis Winston

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Any discussion about Florida State’s 2014 team MVP begins with last season’s MVP, James Winston.

The reigning Heisman Trophy winner has yet to lose a game as a college player and is coming off a brilliant second-half performance in the victory over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. After some early struggles against a very good Notre Dame defense, Winston was nearly flawless in the final two quarters at Doak Campbell Stadium, completing 15 of his 16 passes for 181 yards and a touchdown to the orchestrate the come-from-behind win.

Winston hasn’t been quite as good as he was a season ago, but this FSU team probably wouldn’t be undefeated at this point in the season if it didn’t have its leader under center. Winston has been his best when the Seminoles have needed him the most. According to this report from the Orlando Sentinel’s Brendan Sonnone, he had a passer rating of 209.4 in the second half against Notre Dame.

Will the ‘Noles remain undefeated and compete for another national championship? That depends on the play of their likely MVP, Winston.

The only thing standing in his way of repeating as FSU’s MVP would be a change in his playing status due to an impending on-campus disciplinary hearing or his connection to an autograph dealer.

Odds for MVP: 70 percent

Rashad Greene

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If anyone on Florida State’s roster can push Winston for MVP honors, it’s senior wide receiver Rashad Greene.

The Albany, Georgia, native is certainly a top-five player at his position nationally and is the most dangerous weapon at Winston’s disposal. Greene has led the team in receiving yards and catches in each of his first three years and is head and shoulders above every other wide receiver on the roster this season.

Greene enters FSU’s bye this weekend with team and conference highs in catches (52) and yards (791). He only has four touchdowns this year, but his 113.0 yards-per-game average is more than double FSU’s next two receiving yardage leaders—Bobo Wilson and Nick O’Leary—combined.

Odds for MVP: 15 percent

Mario Edwards Jr.

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As one of the top defensive ends in college football, Mario Edwards Jr. is a dominant force in the trenches for FSU.

The junior pass-rusher has 20 total tackles, five tackles for loss, two sacks and a forced fumble. He missed the North Carolina State game after suffering a concussion against Clemson the week before, and his absence was noticeable. The Wolfpack generated 520 yards of total offense against the Seminoles—the most by an FSU opponent this season.

Edwards’ game isn’t built on piling up gaudy statistics, but his importance to Florida State’s defensive efforts can’t be overstated.

If he’s not the team’s overall MVP, he’ll certainly be in excellent position to be the defensive MVP by year’s end.

Odds for MVP: 5 percent

Eddie Goldman

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Goldman is the best defensive tackle on the roster, but he also has to pick up the slack for what his team is missing without Nile Lawrence-Stample, who is out for the season, in the lineup. Stample’s backup, Derrick Mitchell, has provided a nice spark but has been injury-prone, and senior Desmond Hollin is an average player. With Justin Shanks and Keith Bryant struggling to gain playing time and only a handful of true freshmen on the roster behind them, Goldman has to make an impact from whistle to whistle each game.

The junior from Washington, D.C. saved the day against Clemson when his forced fumble in the fourth quarter kept the Tigers out of the end zone. With more plays like that, Goldman could further state his MVP case.

Odds for MVP: 10 percent

Brandon Mellor is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. Statistics courtesy of Seminoles.com. All recruiting information courtesy of 247Sports.

Follow @BrandonMellor on Twitter.