Can Florida State's Everett Golson Beat the Curse of the Heisman Trophy?

The past decade has not been kind to teams replacing a Heisman Trophy winner.

It's even worse if you narrow down the list to teams replacing a Heisman-winning quarterback, which, in this era of the prestigious award, is most of them.

Who could forget life after Johnny Football for Texas A&M? Well, some Aggies certainly would like to after the program experienced plenty of growing pains in an 8-5 season without Johnny Manziel under center. As hard as it is to believe in retrospect, Robert Griffin III was racking up accolades as an NFL rookie, while Baylor dropped to 8-5 with quarterback Nick Florence following a 10-win campaign.

Auburn after Cam Newton left the Plains? You guessed it, 8-5 the following season.

Florida after Tim Tebow left the Swamp? Yup, 8-5.

In fact, if one includes Oklahoma's 8-5 mark in 2009, when Sam Bradford was injured in the first half of the Sooners' first game, the past five teams replacing a Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback have finished 8-5.

That is a remarkable coincidence. It's also one that should put a scare into Florida State and Oregon fans on the eve of a new season as those programs look to replace Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota.

The Seminoles and Ducks, however, are not just standing by, hoping and praying the highly touted players they recruited will ably fill the shoes of their record-setting predecessors.

Following Monday's news that former Notre Dame quarterback Everett Golson was named the starter for Florida State's opener against Texas State on Saturday, per Corey Clark of the Tallahassee Democrat, it's official that each program will trot out a transfer player as its starting signal-caller.

It's a different approach as each program begins a new era without its former star running the offense.

Debating the merits of seeking out a free-agent quarterback—and that is what Golson and new Oregon starter Vernon Adams were earlier this year—at the college level is best left for the offseason. What has become apparent, though, is that head coaches like the Seminoles' Jimbo Fisher seem comfortable taking this route.

It's a risky bet but a calculated one.

"We're very pleased with [Golson's] progress and where he's at right now," Fisher told reporters after Monday's practice. "He's got a good grasp of things. ...

"I think that's always the part that's the toughest: how you fit in with the success of what was going on here and coming from the outside. I think this shows to his character and what kind of young man he is."

Fisher knows better than anybody what Golson is capable of—and not just because he's watched every move the player has made over the past month.

After all, the former Fighting Irish starter came within a controversial pass-interference call of knocking off Florida State last season, throwing for 313 yards and three touchdowns. That performance in Tallahassee caused some to elevate Golson into the Heisman Trophy conversation and Notre Dame into the playoff discussion at the season's midway point.

And there was plenty of merit to that talk too, considering the loss was only the second of Golson's college career.

But then the wheels fell off for both Golson and the Irish.

The quarterback struggled with turnovers (22 in all) as the team lost four of its final five games and fell well short of expectations. After Malik Zaire led Notre Dame to an upset win over LSU in the Music City Bowl and emerged as the team's starting quarterback this spring, the writing was on the wall for the player who had led the program back to national prominence in 2012.

The result of those moves is an unlikely marriage between a dual-threat quarterback in Golson and Fisher's pro-style offense. While Fisher maintained that he was comfortable with Sean Maguire replacing Winston, there are few coaches who'd pass up the chance to add a veteran who has been around the block.

Who can blame him?

Golson was one of the most decorated prep quarterbacks in his recruiting class and led Notre Dame to the national title game as a redshirt freshman. There's no getting around his 20 career interceptions, but it seems like one hardly hears about the 55 touchdowns he accounted for in his two seasons in South Bend.

Besides, Fisher and the Seminoles went 13-1 last season, with their quarterback throwing 18 interceptions. Surely they're used to a little adversity following a turnover.

"[With] where we're at right now and the things [Golson] did, I think it's what's best for our team at this particular time," Fisher added Monday. "I'm very pleased. It was a tougher decision [between Golson and Maguire] because of how well they were playing, not things they weren't doing."

Who knows if Golson will blossom under Fisher's tutelage? Chances are he will be better than what he showed in the latter half of 2014. But even an average season might be enough for a squad still stocked with 5-star recruits to have every opportunity to repeat as ACC champions.

Golson's mobility should help a retooled offensive line, and he'll have plenty of weapons on the outside with budding stars such as Travis Rudolph and Ermon Lane. And running back Dalvin Cook, whose legal issues have been cleared up, will take some of the load off the backfield.

Replacing a Heisman Trophy winner at quarterback is a tall task for any program. At Oregon and especially Florida State, though, a free-agent pickup under center might just make the transition a little easier.

Because one needs to think outside the box to avoid the Heisman curse of 8-5 in 2015.

Recruit ratings courtesy of 247Sports.

Follow Bryan Fischer on Twitter at @BryanDFischer.