Seminoles Have Easy Path To Pasadena
TALLAHASSEE (CBSMiami) – For the Florida State Seminoles, the formula for the rest of the season is simple: win, and you're in.
If the Seminoles want to play for the Bowl Championship Series national championship, all the team has to do is win its final four games and FSU will be headed to Pasadena, California to play for the title. FSU should be able to accomplish the feat, given they aren't exactly facing a murderer's row of opponents.
FSU has a game this weekend at home against the Syracuse Orange, who are 5-4 on the season and coming off a 20-3 victory over a Maryland team that FSU beat 63-0. Following that game, the Noles get a guaranteed victory against 1-9 Idaho, which is coming off a 59-38 loss to Old Dominion.
The Noles' season finale against rival Florida looks to be a complete mismatch as well. The Gators are a shell of their former selves this season with a 4-5 record. Florida, which has been dealing with a plethora of injuries, was blown off its home field by Vanderbilt last Saturday.
Combined, FSU's regular season opponents have a record of 10-18, a .357 winning percentage.
That would leave the Noles with the Atlantic Coast Conference Coastal Division champion that could be either Georgia Tech or Virginia Tech. Neither team would likely be less than a two-touchdown underdog to the Noles.
"I don't think about it, I don't have to. Everybody else tells you," coach Jimbo Fisher said. "I try to stay in the moment, live in the moment. ... I have enough problems with Syracuse right now."
Running back Karlos Williams was quick to follow his coach and say the team doesn't pay attention to the hoopla surrounding the constantly fluctuating polls. Fisher has termed conversations about all the what-if scenarios "clutter" and outside distractions.
Alabama and Oregon are clutter. The BCS standings are clutter. The ACC championship is clutter.
"I've got the college football app, the ESPN app, of course," Williams said. "By the time it happens, it pops on my phone. BCS standings came on. I was up here for study hall and went home. By the time I walked in the back door, my girlfriend's watching it and my son's looking at the TV.
"It's something that you always look at and pay attention to. It definitely feels good to be No. 2. It feels good to be back up there where you're used to seeing that Seminole head."
Williams explained that the standings and rankings means something, but he has to keep those thoughts in the back of his mind.
Safety Terrence Brooks simply said, "You win all your games, you should be in a good position. That's really what I'm focused on."
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