Florida State Football: Who Should the Seminoles Start at QB vs. Clemson?

Just when it appeared that Florida State's quarterback situation was completely settled, last week reignited some more drama in Tallahassee.

Florida State bounced back from its heartbreaking loss at Georgia Tech on Saturday with a 45-21 trouncing of Syracuse at home. The Seminoles had one of their best offensive performances of the season against the Orange, but their usual starter at quarterback wasn't the one leading the way.

With Notre Dame transfer Everett Golson sitting out due to a concussion suffered against Georgia Tech, backup Sean Maguire started under center and threw for 348 yards, three touchdowns and zero interceptions.

Maguire's great performance against Syracuse opened up speculation that he might be in line for another start in No. 17 Florida State's biggest game of the season—this Saturday night's visit to No. 3 Clemson.

An upset away from home would put FSU in control of the ACC Atlantic Division and on the path to another conference title.

Florida State head coach Jimbo Fisher isn't giving any indication of who will start at quarterback against Clemson, and he won't do so until he gets a clearer picture of Golson's injury status.

"I'm always re-evaluating things," Fisher said, per Brendan Sonnone of the Orlando Sentinel. "I told you we had two good quarterbacks. I said it before. We have two guys that can play and win. Everett's health, [we've] still got to get that and see where things are. We'll go from there."

But even if Golson, who cleared concussion protocol last week but sat out due to dizziness, is healthy enough to start, is he still the right call for Fisher?

Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

Golson hasn't necessarily done anything to lose the No. 1 quarterback label. He's completed 67 percent of his passes this season, and his lone interception on the year came on a circus catch in the end zone from Georgia Tech's Jamal Golden. 

Prior to the Georgia Tech loss, Golson had thrown for 11 touchdowns and zero interceptions, seemingly erasing any of the turnover-prone ways he had as Notre Dame's starting quarterback.

He completed a season-high 75.8 percent of his passes in a win over Miami and recorded 372 yards and three scores against Louisville.

"[Golson] took care of the football, made the plays when they were there, but he threw the ball away when they weren't," Fisher said after the win over Louisville, per Tom D'Angelo of the Palm Beach Post. "The kid knows how to [manage] tough situations, scenarios."

However, Golson's progression in an offensive system tweaked to fit his strengths came to a screeching halt against Georgia Tech.

The Yellow Jackets took away some of the areas Golson was able to exploit in previous matchups, and the entire offense only scored one touchdown—and that was on a drive that started at the Georgia Tech 2-yard line.

The Florida State offense looked completely different in its next matchup, though, with Maguire at the helm.

Mark Wallheiser/Associated Press

Golson wasn't the only notable absence for the unit, as star running back Dalvin Cook and two starters on the offensive line missed the game due to injuries.

But Maguire still had a huge day with the rest of the Seminoles against Syracuse, showcasing a part of the offense that has been missing for the most part with Golson—big passes downfield.

According to Jared Shanker of ESPN.com, Maguire threw the ball for chunk yardage a lot more than Golson has been able to do in his previous seven games for Florida State:

"

Maguire averaged 9.74 'air yards' per attempt, meaning his throws traveled almost 10 yards in the air before reaching the intended target. Golson has a 6.76 average, but it was only 5.24 over the last three games. Georgia Tech [ranks] 86th in 20-yard completions allowed.

Maguire attempted a higher percentage of passes downfield Saturday than Golson has this season. Saturday, 37.1 percent of Maguire’s throws were 10-plus yards downfield, 25.7 were at least 15 yards and 17.1 traveled 20 or more. Golson’s percentages are 28.0, 19.3 and 10.1, respectively.

"

So far this season, Florida State has completed 10 passes of 30 or more yards. Golson had seven of them in seven starts. Maguire had three of them in one start.

While Syracuse has the nation's 106th-ranked pass defense, Maguire did more downfield damage to an ACC opponent in a spot start than Golson had against any opponent in 2015.

Syracuse defensive coordinator Chuck Bullough even said after Saturday's game that he would have rather faced Golson than Maguire because of what the latter could do at the line of scrimmage.

"Honestly, I would've liked to see Golson," Bullough said, per Nate Mink of Syracuse.com. "Because Golson doesn't check. [Maguire] is smart. This guy has a hell of an arm. Golson's thing is running around, and we had to gameplan for that."

Maguire's strong arm and Fisher's confidence in opening up the playbook with him—the Seminoles lined up in more four- and five-receiver sets against Syracuse than they had done previously with Golson—could be the key to springing an upset against a tough Clemson defense.

The opponents that have played the closest against undefeated Clemson this season have all been able to hit the Tigers downfield for big gains:

Opponent	Score	Passing Yards	Completions of 20+ Yards
Louisville	20-17	253	3
Notre Dame	24-22	321	6
NC State	56-41	254	4
All Others (averages)	45-12	104.8	1.8

Golson might have an advantage in playing in more big-time road games during his collegiate career, but Maguire's only other start prior to the Syracuse game was a 23-17 overtime win against none other than Clemson.

As Sonnone wrote Monday, Maguire didn't have the most consistent performance in place of then-quarterback Jameis Winston against Clemson's No. 1 overall defense, but he still "delivered a key 74-yard touchdown pass to Rashad Greene in the fourth quarter of FSU’s 23-17 overtime victory."

Maguire flashed that same big-play passing ability and control of Fisher's offense in his second start at Doak Campbell Stadium. Doing that against a much tougher defense on the road would be a much bigger challenge, but Maguire looked like the man for the job on Saturday.

According to Shanker, Maguire's teammates have said that the junior quarterback has prepared for every game like he was the starter since losing the job to Golson in the offseason.

Last Saturday, he got that chance.

Now the question is if he'll get to do it again on a much bigger stage or if Fisher will go back to the quarterback who won the job in fall camp.

His decision between the hot hand and the steady starter could have a huge impact on where the Seminoles finish the 2015 season—and how many trophies they'll add to their case.

Justin Ferguson is a college football writer at Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter @JFergusonBR.