It is the first week of school – let’s just let that reality sink in for a moment.Accompanied by the first week of school comes many emotions: giddy jitters for the newly-joined sorority members, excitement for all since it will be a fresh start with new classes, and of course, the complete thrill that runs through us when we remind ourselves that football season is fast approaching us and our beloved Seminoles – I mean, National Champions – will soon make their debut in Dallas, Texas.
FSU’s slogan for the upcoming season has been circulating for a while now – Dallas to Dallas. I even wrote an article about it in April to get everyone ready for the hype that would ensue as soon as fall semester began.
While we have much to look forward to in regards to our Noles, the journey is only just beginning. On August 30th, we face Oklahoma State at the iconic AT&T stadium where the Dallas Cowboys wow fans each and every year. These Kickoff Classic games are becoming a huge deal pertaining to strength of schedule, especially this year, since it will be the first year of the college football playoff schedule as opposed to the bowl championship series (BCS). Side note: we must keep our eye on the University of Alabama, an obvious favorite from the past few years, who plays West Virginia in Atlanta for the Chick-Fil-A Kickoff Classic. Now, back to the game at hand. The Oklahoma Cowboys are coached by Mike Gundy, who played quarterback for the Cowboys back in the late eighties; he is going on his ninth year as the head coach and is incredible at what he does. We should be wary because Oklahoma State runs an up-tempo spread offense similar to how Auburn plays, and will try to run down the FSU defense. Fortunately for us, we have already defeated Auburn.
But, who can write an FSU football article and not talk about the man himself, Jameis Winston? Led by our very own, I think I can speak on behalf of FSU fans that we are confident in our team, and that we can win against Oklahoma State. While Winston will have to be a more vocal team leader than he was in 2013 since a good bit of starting seniors left, he is more than capable to lead the team to victory as he did all last year. Could Jameis do it big again? As a Heisman trophy winner, could he go for round two? Let it be known that Archie Griffin of Ohio State is the only person to have ever won two Heisman trophies. Backing him will be the all-star players we have on defense led by Mario Edwards Jr., Terrence Smith, Ronald Darby, PJ Williams, and Jalen Ramsey.
On offense we have stand-out performers in Rashad Greene, Nick O’Leary, Karlos Williams, and Kermit Whitfield. New to the squad are freshman phenoms Dalvin Cook, Ermon Lane, Travis Rudolph, and Derrick Nadi. In a FSU press release made by Randy Spetman, the Florida State Director of Athletics, he said, "We are pleased to be playing Oklahoma State and with the exposure the game will provide our provide our program and our university. I know that our fans will be excited about visiting Texas stadium and the Dallas area. It is a football venue that is second to none."
The saying goes that defense wins championships and if that’s the case, Florida State should be in the running to go back to the ‘ship.
