PASADENA, Calif. — Famous Jameis was headed for infamy.
Playing on his 20th birthday, Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston looked like a freshman for the first time all season, looking nothing like the phenom quarterback who led top-ranked Florida State to an undefeated season.
Facing constant pressure from Auburn’s defensive line, the nation’s most efficient passer appeared to be wilting in his biggest game — 6-of-15 in the first half — as the Seminoles fell into an early and unfamiliar 18-point deficit.
But Winston made the final BCS National Championship an all-time classic by leading Florida State to its first title in 14 years with a 34-31 win over No. 2 Auburn on Monday night at the Rose Bowl, connecting with Kelvin Benjamin for a 2-yard touchdown pass with 13 seconds left.
Winston, who finished with 237 yards passing and two touchdowns, went 6-of-7 for 77 yards on the game-winning drive in just over a minute, having led the Seminoles back after Auburn’s Tre Mason appeared to seal the Tigers upset with a 37-yard touchdown run with 1:18 remaining.
“I was ready. I wanted to be in that situation because that’s what great quarterbacks do,” Winston said. “That’s what the Tom Bradys, Peyton Mannings, Drew Brees, that’s what they do. That’s what you’re judged by, especially by your teammates.
“I’m pretty sure I got more respect from my teammates and the people around me on that last drive than I got the whole year.”
After a season of utter domination in which it won every game by at least 14 points and hadn’t trailed since Sept. 28, Florida State (14-0) opened the game looking like the soft ACC schedule had prepared them for nothing more than a pillow fight. But the Seminoles’ top-ranked defense would hold Auburn scoreless for the first 25 minutes of the second half, helping end the SEC’s string of seven straight national championships.
After an initial Florida State field goal, Auburn (12-2) reeled off 21 points with a slew of offensive misdirection that left the Seminoles defense scrambling. After two passing touchdowns, Auburn quarterback Nick Marshall ran in a 6-yard score after a Winston fumble, putting Florida State in its biggest hole of the season, 21-3, with 5:06 left in the first half.
With the best offense in college football history struggling to string productive plays together, Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher gambled with a fake punt from the Seminoles’ 40-yard line, which Karlos Williams converted, leading to a Devonta Freeman 3-yard touchdown run, cutting the halftime deficit to 21-10.
“I knew with five minutes to go, if [Auburn] got it back and scored, the game could be over right there before half,” said Fisher, in his fourth year as coach. “I knew we had the ball coming out the second half and we’re here to win this thing. We weren’t here just to show up and play well. And I thought that’s what we had to do to gain the momentum of the game back, and it worked and we got it. Hopefully that’s what changed the momentum of the game and got our confidence back.”
After the two high-scoring offenses scored a combined three points in the third quarter, Florida State’s top-ranked defense gave the underperforming offense another chance.
Cornerback P.J. Williams picked off a poor pass from Marshall around midfield less than two minutes into the fourth quarter, setting up a Chad Abram 11-yard touchdown catch that brought the Seminoles within one.
After an Auburn field goal with 4:42 remaining, Florida State freshman Kermit Whitfield returned a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown.
The upset that had been brewing was suddenly slipping from the Tigers.
Auburn, though, had one more answer, driving 75 yards on eight plays and retaking the lead on Mason’s touchdown run. But the Tigers left a little too much time on the clock for Winston and the Seminoles.
The final BCS National Championship Game would appropriately end with chaos, but fortunately, no controversy. Florida State had finished one of the greatest seasons college football had ever seen.
“We’re victorious and I’m glad to say Florida State is the national champion again,” said Winston. “I guarantee you we’re bringing that swag back. You’d better believe it.”
BCS Blitz
HERO
Heisman winner Jameis Winston made his 20th birthday Monday his best. Though Florida State’s freshman quarterback struggled early on, Winston wouldn’t wilt on the game’s biggest drive, completing 6-of-7 passes for 77 yards, while leading the Seminoles 80 yards in just over a minute for the game-winning touchdown, with 13 seconds left.
UNSUNG HERO
Auburn, which had controlled nearly the entire game, had a chance to stretch a 21-13 lead early in the fourth quarter when Florida State cornerback P.J. Williams picked off Nick Marshall at the FSU 40-yard line, setting up a Seminoles’ touchdown which brought them within a point.
ZERO
Auburn quarterback Nick Marshall appeared headed for legendary status after throwing for two touchdowns and running for another in the first half, but Marshall’s first interception in nine games, coming early in the fourth quarter, gave Florida State’s struggling offense a short field to work with.
KEY STAT
21: Number of points Florida State scored in the fourth quarter. The Seminoles entered the game averaging 53 points per game and were limited to three points in the game’s first 13 minutes, but the nation’s highest-scoring team became the most prolific scoring team — surpassing 2008 Oklahoma — in FBS history.
QUOTE
“Because we told them we’d have the biggest turnaround in college football, and the biggest turnaround would be winning that crystal ball. We owed them that because of the season last year. I just want them to know that I gave it all I got, but I still feel like I let them down.”
— Auburn’s Tre Mason on Tigers fans