BCS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP – FINAL GAME NOTES January 6, 2014 @ The Rose Bowl, Pasadena, Cal. Recapping A Championship Season • 3 - National Titles for the Seminoles (1993, 1999, 2013) • 511-237-17 FSU's all-time record • 27-14-2 FSU's all-time bowl record • 45-10 Jimbo Fisher's record as FSU head coach (.818) • 4-0 - FSU's record in bowl games under Jimbo Fisher • 6 - This was Florida State's sixth consecutive bowl victory • 16 Consecutive wins by the Seminoles, the longest win streak since 1999-2000 • 14-0 - The first time in school history and just the sixth time in college football history Winston Delivers In The Clutch On the heels of his least-productive half of football this season, Florida State redshirt freshman quarterback Jameis Winston cemented his offensive MVP performance with a brilliant second half, delivering the Seminoles a 34-31 victory and the program’s third National Championship: • The 2013 Heisman Trophy winner completed 14 of 20 second half pass attempts for 175 yards and two touchdowns, including his game-winning, two-yard strike to Kelvin Benjamin with 13 seconds remaining; • Winston’s final stat line read: 20 of 35 for 237 yards and two touchdowns; • He finished his season with 4,077 passing yards and 40 touchdowns and is the first freshman in FBS history to eclipse 4,000 passing yards and toss 40 TD passes; • It is the second-highest single-season passing yardage total in school history, trailing only Chris Weinke (4,167 yds, 2000); • Winston becomes the first player in FBS history to win the Heisman Trophy, lead his team to the National Championship and a 14-0 record, and lead an offense that averaged 50 points per game. • Winston becomes the 14th player to win the Heisman Trophy and fourth in the BCS era. He is the first freshman quarterback to win a BCS National Championship. Abram Comes Through Again Senior fullback Chad Abram’s third touchdown reception of the season – an 11-yard pass from Jameis Winston with 10:55 remaining in the game – sparked FSU’s second half comeback as the Seminoles pulled within 21-20. It was Abram’s eighth reception of the season. Aguayo Makes His Mark In First Season Redshirt freshman kicker and Groza Award winner Roberto Aguayo closed out his first season with a number of significant accomplishments: • With two field goals in the BCS National Championship Game, Aguayo has converted his last nine field goal attempts, seven of which have been beyond 40 yards; • Aguayo became the FBS all-time single-season leader for kick scoring with 10 points in the title game, pushing his season total to 157; • His final PAT of the night pushed him past Oklahoma State’s Quinn Sharp (156, 2012) for the single-season record. Freeman Breaks 1,000-yard Rushing Drought Redshirt junior tailback Devonta Freeman became the first Seminole running back to eclipse 1,000 rushing yards in a single season since Warrick Dunn in 1996. Freeman’s 4-yard gain with four minutes remaining in the third quarter pushed his season total to exactly 1,000 yards. He finished with a team-leading 73 yards on 11 carries and finishes with 1,016 yards on the season. ... His 3-yard touchdown run with 1:28 remaining in the first half was his 14th of the season and the 30th of his career, moving him into a tie for third on FSU’s all-time rushing touchdown list with Amp Lee. Greene Leads Receiving Corps Junior wide receiver Rashad Greene has a history of showing up big at the most important moments and his effort against Auburn was no exception: • Greene led the ‘Noles with nine receptions for 147 yards, pushing his season total to 76 receptions for 1,128 yards; • He became the first 1,000-yard receiver for the Seminole since Anquan Boldin in 2002 with his second catch of the night, good for a 29-yard gain in the first quarter; • It was his fifth 100-yard receiving game of the season – his first since the NC State game – and the seventh of his career; • Greene’s 2,465 career receiving yards rank sixth all-time and his 171 career receptions place him fourth. Benjamin Joins 1,000-yard Club Held without a reception in the first half, redshirt sophomore receiver Kelvin Benjamin was a force in the second half with four receptions for 54 yards, highlighted by his game-winning 2-yard TD reception with 13 seconds remaining. His 21-yard reception in the fourth quarter, leading up to the Seminoles’ second touchdown of the night, pushed him past the 1,000-yard receiving mark this seaso: • He finishes the season with 54 receptions for 1,011 yards and 15 touchdown receptions; • His game-winning touchdown catch also tied the FSU single-season record, previously held by Andre Cooper (15, 1995); • Benjamin joins teammate Rashad Greene, giving the Seminoles two 1,000-yard receivers in a season for the first time since E.G. Green and Cooper did it in 1995. Williams Collects Record 26th Interception of Year Sophomore cornerback P.J. Williams’ interception with 12:56 remaining in the game, set up FSU’s touchdown drive which pulled the Seminoles within 21-20. It was the third of the season from Williams, who was named the game’s defensive MVP. More significantly it was the 26th of the year by the Seminoles, breaking the single-season record of 25 which was shared by the 1968 and 1991 FSU teams. A New National Scoring Record With its 34-31 victory, Florida State set the new single-season FBS scoring record with 723 points. That eclipsed the previous mark of 716 set by Oklahoma over 14 games in 2008. Odds & Ends Senior linebacker Telvin Smith finished with a career-high 15 tackles…FSU is the first team to trail at the half and win the BCS National Championship…The ‘Noles are also just the third team to win the title after trailing at the end of three quarters…Noles are the third team in the BCS era to rally from a double-digit deficit to win the National Championship…The Noles’ 18-point deficit is the most a team has ever overcome to win the BCS National Championship. Trailing? It’s Been Awhile When Auburn’s Tre Mason scored on a 12-yard touchdown pass from Nick Marshall with 3:07 remaining in the first quarter, Florida State found itself facing a deficit for the first time in 583 minutes and 42 seconds. The Seminoles had not trailed in a game since fullback Chad Abram caught a 10-yard touchdown pass from Jameis Winston with 1:49 remaining in the second quarter at Boston College on Sept. 28. Abram’s score tied the game at 10-10. Slow Starts Not Uncommon Though Florida State has not trailed at the end of the first quarter since the fourth game of the season, the Seminoles haven’t been lighting up the scoreboard in the first quarter recently. FSU has managed just two field goals in the opening quarter over its last three games – at Florida and tonight against Auburn – and was shut out in the opening quarter against Duke in the ACC Championship Game. The Seminoles warmed up to defeat Florida 37-7 and Duke 45-7. … Despite boasting the nation’s No. 2 scoring offense, the ‘Noles have now scored fewer than 10 points in the first quarter eight times this season. A Most Distinguished Honorary Captain Legendary Florida State coach Bobby Bowden, the winningest coach in FBS history, never had an opportunity to lead the Seminoles in a game at the tradition-steeped Rose Bowl. Bowden, however, represented the Seminoles as the honorary captain for the BCS National Championship game. He was joined at midfield for the coin toss by Auburn legend Bo Jackson. Captains for the Game Captains for the game are seniors Bryan Stork, Telvin Smith, Kenny Shaw and Lamarcus Joyner…The Seminoles won the toss, deferred to the second half and chose to defend the North end zone. Former Seminole Stars in the House A star-studded cast of former Seminoles are in attendance today, including sideline guests Warrick Dunn, Derrick Brooks, Terrell Buckley, Andre Wadsworth, Jamie Dukes, Christian Ponder and EJ Manuel. … a number of other standouts made the trek to Pasadena in support of the ‘Noles, including Charlie Ward, Chris Weinke, Scott Bentley, Darnell Dockett, Leon Washington, Bryant McFadden, Alex Barron, Ray Willis, Travis Johnson, Chris Thompson and Tarlos Thomas. Two More ‘Noles Honored Monday Quarterback James Winston and defensive Jalen Ramsey were named to the 13th annual Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) Freshman All-American team, which was announced Monday morning at the annual FWAA Breakfast. Winston is just the second quarterback to be named to both the FWAA All-American and its Freshman All-American teams, following in the footsteps of Texas A&M’s Johnny Manziel last year. .