The No. 1 ranked Florida State Seminoles will begin their journey to repeat as national champions tomorrow night against Oklahoma State at AT&T stadium (home of the Dallas Cowboys) in Arlington, TX. The Seminoles are a 19 point favorite and are looking to start their season on a high note.
The Seminoles have an advantage at almost every position and should take care of business tomorrow night. Jameis Winston returns and has an array of weapons at his disposal. The offensive line should control the line of scrimmage and give Winston plenty of time to find his receivers. It does not help that Oklahoma State only returns one starter in their secondary, cornerback Kevin Peterson.
Oklahoma State will turn to junior quarterback J.W. Walsh to dethrone the Seminoles from their post. Walsh will have to be precise and cannot afford to make poor decisions or that could spell danger for the Cowboys. Running out of the spread, Walsh will likely rely on quick passes to gain easy yardage and will try to keep the Seminoles off-balance and the Cowboys moving the chains.
We cannot forget that only last year, Oklahoma State beat Baylor 49-17, and lost to Oklahoma and Missouri by a combined 19 points. Mike Gundy is one of the most underrated coaches in the country and you can bet he will have his team ready to perform in front of what should be a sea of orange and black in Dallas. Unfortunately, they lost a lot of key members from their 10-3 season and it’s hard to expect that a team newcomers will produce well enough on both ends to win a game against the defending national champions.
The Seminoles are top-to-bottom the most talented team in the country. Head coach Jimbo Fisher believes his team is focused and ready to compete for another national championship. That quest begins tomorrow night.
Prediction
Florida State 45
Oklahoma State 17
The Cowboys will put up some points but I fear that Winston and the receiving corps, combined with the ‘Noles’ offensive line experience will allow the Seminoles to excel.
*Section Photo credit to Melina Vastola, USA Today Sports; Featured Photo (above) credit to Richard Rowe, US Presswire and Mike Olivella, Florida State Athletics
