For the first time since completing an improbable comeback to top Auburn 34-31 in the BCS National Championship, Florida State will put the nation’s longest winning streak on the line on Saturday as it faces Oklahoma State at AT&T Stadium in Dallas. After a 14-0 finish to last season, the top-ranked Seminoles enter 2014 as winners of 16 straight.
Headlining the offense for Florida State will be quarterback and reigning Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston. A month before turning 20 years old, Winston became the second freshman and youngest player ever to win the award last season.
Winston will lose two of his top three receivers, but senior Rashad Greene enters 2014 just 1,134 yards shy of Ron Sellers’ FSU career receiving record. Complementing Greene will be a mix of veterans taking on bigger roles and younger players with huge upside. Senior tight end Nick O’Leary also looks to be a popular target as he has already scored more touchdowns than any player in Florida State history to man that position.
The Florida State aerial attack will be testing an Oklahoma State defense that loses its top three interceptors from a season ago including cornerback Justin Gilbert, who was taken eighth overall by the Cleveland Browns in the 2014 NFL Draft. Cornerback Kevin Peterson had a pair of interceptions for the Cowboys last season while safety Larry Stephens is the lone senior in the secondary.
Up front defensively, Emmanuel Ogbah returns after tying for the team-lead with four sacks as a freshman. Ogbah and the Cowboys’ defensive front will face a Florida State offensive line that starts five seniors and returns four starters. While tackle Cameron Erving may be the best of the group for FSU, the guard combination of Tre’ Jackson and Josue Matias may be the best in the country.
While redshirt sophomore Mario Pender and true freshman Dalvin Cook are each expected to make their Florida State debuts on Saturday, doing the majority of the running behind that group up front will also be a senior in Karlos Williams.
Williams split time last season with Devonta Freeman and James Wilder Jr. Williams finished with 730 yards on the grounds, 11 touchdowns and a very impressive 8.0 yards-per-carry average. This, after Williams started in last season’s opener on the defensive side of the ball, at safety.
Though Karlos Williams is no longer part of the Florida State secondary, that contingent looks to be the strongest part of a defense that yielded the nation’s fewest points-per-game last season. Sophomore safety Jalen Ramsey and junior cornerback P.J. Williams have each been named preseason All-Americans while safety Tyler Hunter returns from a season-ending neck injury. The Seminoles also return sophomore reserve safety Nate Andrews, who led the team last season with four interceptions.
The highly-touted Florida State secondary will look to slow a usually potent Oklahoma State passing attack. The Cowboys however, are losing starting quarterback Clint Chelf and their top two leading receivers. Junior quarterback J.W. Walsh is far from inexperienced as Walsh has attempted over 350 career passes.
The passing attack will have a new look for Oklahoma State, but the Cowboys do return running back Desmond Roland, the team’s leading rusher last season. Roland finished with over 800 yards rushing in 2013 and 13 touchdowns. Roland is a between-the-tackles back and that style of runner did give Florida State trouble a season ago.
Tasked with slowing down the ground game for Oklahoma State will be a front seven for the Seminoles that loses three very key starters. Defensive end Mario Edwards Jr. headlines the defensive front while junior Terrance Smith is the lone returning starter at linebacker — a position in which the Seminoles are very young. An inexperienced defensive line for FSU may have the toughest time in Saturday’s opener.
Florida State’s Jimbo Fisher is a perfect 4-0 in season-openers as the head man in Tallahassee. Florida State’s last season-opening loss came to Miami on Labor Day in 2009. Oklahoma State has not began a season with a loss since falling to Georgia to kick off the 2007 season. The Cowboys are 8-1 in openers under head coach Mike Gundy.
For the Seminoles and Cowboys, Saturday’s meeting in Dallas will be the first between the schools since the 1985 Gator Bowl. Florida State won that contest by a 34-23 score. Saturday’s game will kick off just after 8:00 P.M. eastern time and will air nationally on ABC.
