Florida State Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Jameis Winston has been in the news a lot lately, and for all the wrong reasons. Months after the alleged rape allegations were dismissed, Winston got a citation for walking out of a local Publix grocery store with some crab legs he acquired via five finger discount. While the theft of $32 and change worth of seafood had minor legal ramifications, the 2-sport star was suspended from the baseball team as a result. Will these distractions take their toll on the Seminoles football squad in 2014-2015? Let’s break down FSU’s chances of winning back-to-back national titles this year:
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The easiest way to determine whether a not a team has a good shot at repeating as National Champions is to keep an eye on the current lines and college football futures. As of right now, these are the top 10 teams according to odds makers:
Florida State (5 to 1)
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Oregon (6 to 1)
Alabama (13 to 2)
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Ohio State (12 to 1)
Auburn (13 to 1)
Oklahoma (14 to 1)
UCLA (20 to 1)
Michigan State (22 to 1)
LSU (22 to 1)
South Carolina (30 to 1)
As you can see, the sports books like FSU’s chances to repeat, but perennial powerhouses Oregon and Alabama’s odds aren’t far off. Rivals.com gives a lot of credit to Alabama’s 2014 recruiting class, rating them #1 overall (again) by a wide margin. Oregon’s system didn’t skip a beat last season with the departure of Chip Kelly, as the Ducks return most of their key players from 2013-2014. In my opinion, though, THE Ohio State Buckeyes will be in the National Championship conversation all year long and may knock Florida State off their pedestal in the first ever College Football Playoff.
Not only will Florida State have to shake off all the bad press from the off-season, they’ll need to compile a record impressive enough to be selected for the 4-team College Football Playoff, and then win 2 games to take the title. CBS Sports put together a great rundown of how the new system will work and when the Championship game is to be played. While we can speculate all you want, we won’t know until January 12th whether or not the Seminoles can repeat.
