Jameis Winston leads FSU to BCS
PASADENA, Calif. — The Bowl Championship Series finished its 16-year run choosing school football's national title with a staggering presentation of firepower at the Rose Bowl on Monday night.No. 1 Florida State, which had not trailed in an amusement since a September experience against Boston College, needed to originate from behind in the last seconds to post a throbbing 34-31 triumph over No. 2 Auburn as rookie quarterback Jameis Winston tossed a 2-yard touchdown go to wide recipient Kelvin Benjamin with 13 seconds left.
The wild complete by FSU, which won its first national title since 1999, finished the Southeastern Conference's seven-year title streak.
Reddish-brown (12-2) battled from starting to end. From the begin, mentor Gus Malzahn's group, which trailed in eight of its 13 diversions this season, attempted an alternate system, shocking FSU and amazing the sold-out Rose Bowl swarm of 94,208 by hopping to a 21-3 second-quarter lead.
Headed by quarterback Nick Marshall (14 of 27, 2 Tds, 1 capture attempt) and running back Tre Mason (34 conveys, 195 yards, 1 TD), Auburn showed the aspects important to win its second national title in four seasons.
Be that as it may Florida State (14-0), which conquered a 17-3 first-quarter deficiency against BC before pulling endlessly for a 48-34 win in September, finished not freeze since Winston, the Heisman Trophy victor, declined to let his group lose.
After a walker first half in which Winston finished just 6 of 15 passes for 62 yards and no Tds, he was dynamite down the stretch, finishing 14 of 20 passes and a couple of final quarter Tds.
FSU gradually got go into the mix, turning a yawner — a 21-10 halftime shortfall — into a 21-20 thriller taking after Winston's 11-yard TD go to fullback Chad Abram with 10:55 staying in the final quarter.
As though a switch was pulled, both groups went into an alternate hostile rigging, which transformed the diversion into a scoring derby.
After Auburn's Cody Parkey stretched out Auburn's lead to 24-20 with a 22-yard field objective with 4:42 remaining, FSU snatched its first lead in dynamite manner — Levonte Whitfield's 100-yard kickoff come back with 4:31 left gave the Seminoles a 27-24 lead.
Coppery beat Alabama on a 100-yard return of a missed field objective in the last seconds of the Iron Bowl meeting in November.
In any case Auburn, which hauled out last second charm Georgia and Alabama to achieve the SEC title amusement, was a long way from completed.
The Tigers brought the lead once more with 1:19 left when Mason got through an opening on the right side and hustled 37 yards for a TD.
Coppery headed, 31-27 with 1:19 left.
Amusement over? Scarcely.
Winston never jumped. Nor did the Seminoles, as they moved 80 yards in under a moment, putting forth their expression with a 2-yard TD pass from Winston to Benjamin after a pass impedance bring at last zone gave FSU a first and objective at the 2.
This time there was no inexplicable occurrence comeback for Auburn.
"They drove the field and they scored around the close and figured out how to win,''' said Malzahn, who guided Auburn from a 3-9 season a year back. "Provide for them credit.''
"I said this from Day 1 in spring ball, this is uncommon,'' Florida State mentor Jimbo Fisher said. "They needed to be an exclusive group.''
FSU was really that through a general season in which it beat all comers no sweat.
Reddish-brown was an alternate profile, with SEC rate and SEC history.
"It's been a four-year development,'' said Fisher, who pledged to carry FSU to the heavenliness days of Bobby Bowden when Fisher assumed control over the project four years prior. "We got to a top level that we would prefer not to go beneath now.''
Concerning Winston, Fisher said it was his best execution.
"It was his best amusement since he battled his path through things,'' said Fisher. "He battled his route through affliction. They got weight on him, and we dropped a few balls. Also we were pressing.''
Fisher said his group had a feeling of trust in spite of its abate begin. "We didn't feel awful,'' said Fisher, "on the grounds that we didn't play that well and were just behind, 21-10.''
Winston, finishing a fantastic season, was commending his twentieth special day. "I'm recently amped up for my fellows,'' said Winston, named the diversion's hostile MVP. "This title implies such a great amount of to me.''
Concerning the last drive, Winston said it was his time. "I was primed,'' he said. "That is the thing that incredible quarterbacks do.''
Extraordinary quarterbacks, great or incredible group. All a piece of the BCS legacy.
The ring is currently finish. FSU was on the losing finish to a SEC group (Tennessee) in the first BCS amusement in 1998. The Seminoles end the BCS time with an awesome win against an alternate SE.