Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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GAME PREVIEW: FLORIDA STATE "They returned like 15 guys that were regular starters last year, and pretty evenly distributed on both sides of the ball. The difference is the guys they did lose were vital components to that championship team," said Brendan Sonnone, who covers the team for The Orlando Sentinel. "Not only did Florida State go undefeated last season, but they did so in dominating fashion. They set a modern-day NCAA record for largest margin of victory for a championship team. "Part of that was everything clicked for them offensively, but the locker room was so intact and able to weather the storm of the Jameis Winston stuff and some early-season games where things weren't quite clicking. It was because of that senior leadership. I know it sounds cliché, but it really was a special group of guys." Last November, a state attorney an- nounced he was opening an investi- gation into a sexual assault complaint against Winston originally filed with the Tallahassee Police Department in December 2012. No charges were ul- timately filed. A number of lesser off- the-field stories emerged this past year about the Heisman Trophy winner, ev- erything from shoplifted crab legs to standing on a table at the student union and yelling a vulgar phrase. The latter incident earned him a one-game sus- pension for the 23-17 overtime win over Clemson, the first time since his redshirt season that Winston missed a game. Through his first five games of 2014 (excluding the Clemson win), Win- ston threw for 11 touchdowns and five interceptions after finishing with 40 and 10, respectively, in 14 games a year ago. "In reality I don't think that's impact- ing him too much," Sonnone said. "You look at the numbers and wonder if he's stressing, but he actually plays his best when there's been off-field things. You Facts & Figures NOTRE DAME VS.FLORIDA STATE Game Info Date: Oct. 18, 2014. Site: Doak Campbell Stadium (82,300). Kickoff: 8 p.m. Television: ABC. Radio: This broadcast can be heard live on SIRIUS Satellite Radio (channel 129). Series Facts: This is the eighth meeting be- tween Notre Dame and Florida State. The Semi- noles lead the all-time series 5-2. Coaches: Notre Dame — Brian Kelly (43-15, fifth season); Florida State — Jimbo Fisher (51- 10, fifth season). Noting Florida State: The Seminoles have won the last two matchups in this series, with the most recent victory being a come-from-behind 18-14 win in the 2011 Champs Sports Bowl … During Florida State's 22-game winning streak, it has scored 91 more touchdowns than its oppo- nents… FSU 22-game streak is tied for the fifth- longest since 2000 and tied for the sixth longest over the last 20 years … Fisher became the 10th coach in major college football history to win 50 games before the completion of his fifth season when the Seminoles topped Wake Forest 43-3 Oct. 4; Brian Kelly can join him if the Irish finish with 13 wins this season … Through week six, Florida State was the only team in the country with two wins against current coaches' poll top- 25 teams — a 37-31 victory over Oklahoma State and a 23-17 win over Clemson in overtime.