The 2014 regular season has come to a close and as many in Tallahassee had hoped, Florida State will be part of college football’s first 4-team playoff. For Florida State in 2014, a number of things went wrong, but enough went right for the Seminoles to run the nation’s longest winning streak from 16 to 29 games. Prior to the year, I wrote a piece making five bold predictions for the year. Let’s take a look back at those predictions:
1. O’Leary Will Win the Mackey
CHECK. In hindsight, this prediction may not have been the bold. Senior tight end Nick O’Leary had a monster year in 2013 and followed that up with an even bigger campaign in terms of receptions and yardage. On Wednesday, it became official that O’Leary had won the John Mackey Award to become the first Seminole ever to be honored as the nation’s top tight end.
2. Freshmen Will Again Have a Huge Impact
CHECK. In fact, the freshmen had a much bigger impact than I think most expected. We all knew what kind of talent running back Dalvin Cook and freshman wide receiver Travis Rudolph had, but Cook was FSU’s best offensive player over the final half of the regular season. Aside from All-ACC performer Rashad Greene, Rudolph blossomed into arguably Florida State’s most dependable receiver. There’s no denying the improvement that’s come along the offensive line since Roderick Johnson took over at left tackle either.
3. Defense Will Struggle Early
CHECK. It turned out to be truer than I had hoped, but the Florida State defense was never the dominant unit that some had expected it would become entering the season. What the Seminoles were able to do on that side of the ball however, was make plays when it had to. There were a number of players on that side of the ball that had great years including defensive tackle Eddie Goldman and safety Jalen Ramsey, but injuries to the front seven and a lack of veteran leadership handicapped the defensive unit in 2014.
4. An Unlikely Foe Will Challenge FSU
CHECK. Again, this turned out to be truer than I ever could have imagined. This season, Florida State had to overcome large early deficits against N.C. State, Louisville and even Miami, but always found a way. The Seminoles also found themselves in dog fights with Boston College and Florida. It was a matter of “take your pick” as to which unlikely opponent would challenge Florida State, but challenging and defeating remain two very different things.
5. FSU Will Have a Heisman Finalist Not Named Winston
WRONG. Not only did Florida State not have a Heisman finalist not named (Jameis) Winston, it didn’t have a Heisman finalist named Winston either. Coming into the year, sophomore quarterback Jameis Winston seemed like a slam dunk to at least make the trip to New York. With Karlos Williams and Rashad Greene getting more touches than last season, I also envisioned that each of those players stood a strong chance as well. You could make the case that Greene garnered some Heisman consideration for a while, but neither Winston, Williams nor Greene were ever close to being favorites or serious contenders for the award. The good news is that all three would probably rather be 13-0.
