Written by Adrian Beecher When the Seminoles and Ducks lineup against each other on News Year's Day in Pasadena, California each teams ability to score and prevent the other team from scoring in the red zone could determine who moves on to Dallas to play for a National Championship. The Florida State defense comes into this matchup ranked as the 14th best red zone defense in the country, allowing scores 72 percent of the time to opposing offenses this year in 48 appearances. Only 52% of the time this season did FSU allow a red zone touchdown, with 11 through the air and 14 coming on the ground. Oregon is ranked 42nd in the country in red zone offense, scoring 86 percent of the time with 48 of their 62 scores being touchdowns. Of those touchdowns, only 20 came through the air. The Ducks score a passing touchdown only 27 percent of the time that they are in the red zone. This year's Heisman trophy winning quarterback for the Ducks, Marcus Mariota has completed 54 percent of his passes inside opponents 20-yard line this season. Now 18 of Mariotas 34 redzone completions did go for touchdowns, which was allowed by his ability to make defenders come off their blocks and commit to stopping the run. The Noles’ secondary must stay disciplined and stick to the game plan in order to force Mariota into situations that he doesn’t want to be in. Time and time again this season Mariota has burned the opposing secondary as defenders take bad angles and bite on the run, getting beat 50+ yards downfield on play action passes by the Ducks prolific speedster wide receivers. Goal line stands and red zone defense has been a staple of the FSU defense this season, as they forced a turnover on downs in the red zone in overtime to beat Clemson in their third game. Against the then No. 5 ranked Fighting Irish, FSU’s Jacob Pugh intercepted Everett Golston on a 4th and goal play to seal the win in the final seconds, improving to 6-0. Then two weeks later the 'Noles were at it again, this time stopping Louisville on a 4th and goal at the 2-yard line on the Cardinals 1st possession of the game. Time and time again someone seems to step up and make a big play when it matters most for the Seminoles. Against their instate rivals Florida this year the Noles red zone defense proved critical once again. This time it came in the 1st quarter with the Gators up 9-7 and threatening with a 1st and goal at the 9-yard line after Jameis Winston threw his 3rd interception of the game. Noles’ linebacker Terrance Smith grabbed a tipped ball as it bounced off of Gators tight end Tevin Westbrook hands, taking it 94 yards the other way for a touchdown. If any thing is for certain, it’s that this will be a high scoring affair with quick scores. Red zone play will be critical on both sides as the game wears on into the night. Written by Danny Morales Jameis Winston and the defending National Champion Florida State Seminoles have a tendency of coming up clutch in big games and that habit could help the Seminoles in the Rose Bowl against the Oregon Ducks. Winston is 27-0 all-time as a started at Florida State and has played well in the three biggest games of his career so far, including going 20-35 for two touchdowns, including the game winning score to Kelvin Benjamin, in last year’s National Championship game. The Seminoles will go into the New Year’s Day matchup against the Ducks riding a nation’s best 29-game winning streak, but what might play into FSU’s advantage the most is the fact that the ‘Noles have been there before, defeating Auburn 34-31 in last year’s BCS title game. Florida State won’t be caught up in all the pomp and circumstance that comes in playing in the famed Rose Bowl, while Oregon will be playing in Pasadena for the first time against a team that isn’t UCLA. “To play in Pasadena, at least it is good you know where you are going to be, the kind of stadium it is and the weather and I think that will be an advantage,” said FSU head coach Jimbo Fisher after practice on Tuesday. Oregon heads to the Rose Bowl ranked second in the College Football Playoff rankings and are third in the FBS with 46.3 points per game, as well as the 2014 Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota. Mariota led the Ducks offense with 3,783 passing yards and 38 touchdowns through the air, and added another 14 scored on the ground this season. “They do it extremely well, but no-huddle teams are more similar now, or there are more of those than huddle-up teams. So you see it a bunch now.” said Fisher following practice. “And I thought it was a key last year when we played Auburn. “I mean, that was the thing that everyone thought we would fade at the end and that’s when we got stronger. I feel very good about where we’re at and our conditioning is going really well.” But FSU has a Heisman winner of their own in Winston, who always finds a way to win when the game is on the line, as he showed in last year’s National Championship game when he led the game-winning drive in the biggest game of his career. Florida State showed that they can stop an up-tempo offense when they defeated Georgia Tech and the triple-option in the ACC Championship game two weeks ago, so expect Mario Edwards Jr., Jalen Ramsey and P.J. Williams to be ready for Oregon’s spread offense. “On the edges, you’re going to have to play well on the edges.” said Fisher of the importance of Edwards Jr. to the defense. “Whether he plays on the edges or moves inside or wherever he goes. And the guys on the perimeter are going to have to do that, tackle well, keep edges on the defense and close the space and tackle in space.” Another X-factor for the Seminoles will be true freshman running back Dalvin Cook, who has emerged as FSU’s go-to guy in the back field during the last few weeks when Karlos Williams was plagued by injuries. Cook ran for 177 yards and a touchdown against Georgia Tech and has ran for 489 yards in the last four games for the ‘Noles. Despite being an underdog in Las Vegas, Florida State should be considered the favorite going into the CFB Playoff semifinal on New Year’s Day, as the Seminoles are the only FBS team to finish the regular season undefeated and have the experience of playing in College Football’s biggest game with a quarterback that has led them there before, and as a redshirt freshman. The Rose Bowl between No. 3 Florida State and No. 2 Oregon is set for 2 p.m. PST from Pasadena, California on New Year’s Day and will decide who goes to the inaugural College Football Playoff National Championship in Texas to face the winner of Alabama/Ohio State. The game can be watched on ESPN. For updates leading up to the Rose Bowl, as well as during Bowl Week be sure to follow The SkyBoat FSU beat writer Danny Morales (@Danny_Morales_) and The SkyBoat (@TheSkyBoat) on Twitter. FSU heads into familiar territory to face Oregon at the Rose Bowl in the Inaugural Playoff Semifinal12/7/2014 Written by Danny Morales Florida State will face Oregon in the Rose Bowl as a part of the first-ever semifinal of the newly instilled College Football Playoff in Pasadena, California on Thursday, Jan 1. The Seminoles will be traveling to the Rose Bowl for the second year in a row, this time as the No. 3 team in the country. Oregon got the No. 2 spot in Sunday's CFB Playoff Selection Show. Oregon is third in the nation averaging 46.3 points per game with Hesiman candidate Marcus Mariota, who is fifth in the country with 3,783 yards for the season. Mariota and the Ducks don't turn the ball over much either, as the senior signal caller has only two interceptions to his 38 passing touchdowns for a toucchdown-to-interception ratio of 19. He also leads the nation with a 186.3 QB rating. FSU is currently riding a school record 29-game winning streak and are coming off a 37-35 win over Georgia Tech in the ACC Championship game. Quarterback Jameis Winston is coming off one of his better games of the season, going 21-of-30 passing for 309 yards and three touchdowns against the Yellow Jackets. Freshman running back Dalvin Cook has emerged as a real offensive weapon for the Seminoles and has rushed for 489 yards over the last four games, including his 177 yard performance in the championship game that earned him MVP honors. Oregon opens up as a 8-point favorite in Vegas, but Florida State and Winston have a knack for showing up in big-games. " I think we prepare better when it's playing against (in) playoff games or big-time games because we've got a different attitude;" said Winston after the ACC Championship game. "We want to win a championship. Everyone wants to win a championship." The Ducks and Seminoles will battle for a spot in the College Football Playoff final in Arlington, Texas with a win in the Rose Bowl on January 1. Kickoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. EST from Pasadena, California. |
News and Updates on the 2015 College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Rose BowlFlorida State vs Oregon January 1, 5:00 pm EST ArchivesCategories |