FSU Seminoles

Todd McShay discusses his top five Heisman Trophy candidates -- Ohio State quarterback Braxton Miller, Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o, West Virginia quarterback Geno Smith, Kansas State quarterback Collin Klein, Georgia linebacker Jarvis Jones and an honorable mention for Florida State quarterbak EJ Manuel.

Tajh Boyd's third pass went for 60 yards, and with that, the shine was off Florida State's suit of armor.

After a year of hype about the Seminoles' impenetrable defense, Clemson found a work-around, racking up 37 points and 427 yards in a losing effort.

But there's a silver lining to the gaudy numbers, and Florida State's defenders have been quick to point it out.

"They were hitting a lot of big things on trick plays," Timmy Jernigan said. "We knew that was going to come. Teams aren't going to play us straight up."

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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- It might have been the most spirited practice in nearly a year for Devonta Freeman, and that was good to see, Jimbo Fisher said.

The sophomore tailback didn't get a touch in Saturday's win over Clemson, which came just days after his brother was murdered near Miami. The emotional toll was immense, and Freeman was absent from the team's meetings Monday to attend the funeral. But Fisher said Freeman returned Tuesday with renewed focus.

"He's doing as well as can be expected," Fisher said. "It's a very tough situation....It's a tragedy and sometimes people don't realize what's going on in these kids' lives....They're 17, 18, 19, 20-year old kids. It's devastation."

The off-field issues certainly sidetracked Freeman's game Saturday, but his role had been reduced even before that.

After leading the team in rushing a year ago, Freeman entered the season as part of a three-man rotation at tailback. In the first two games of the season, he had 18 touches on offense, tops among the running backs. In the past two games, however, Freeman has just six carries and one reception.

Meanwhile, Chris Thompson and James Wilder Jr. have taken off. Thompson has back-to-back 100-yard games, while Wilder has become a second-half workhorse.

The shift in playing time isn't meant as a knock on Freeman, Fisher said, but it's also not guaranteed to change any time soon.

"The other guys are playing really good," Fisher said. "(Thompson and Wilder) are really cranking it up. We had a hot hand going and we didn't want to break the rhythm. It has nothing to do with Devonta doing anything wrong. The other guys are just doing some things really good."

Fisher said he hopes the increased workload for Thompson and Wilder will serve as a springboard for Freeman, too.

"I think that's why you saw him really pick it up (in practice) today," Fisher said.

While the competition has tightened up among the running backs however, Wilder said the group has rallied around Freeman off the field.

"He's been going through a lot of off-the-field issues, and we're his brothers, too, so we're making sure we comfort him," Wilder said. "But he's back and he's ready to go. He's feeling better."

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Mel Kiper Jr. and Todd McShay debated this week whether Florida State is good enough to break the SEC's streak of national titles. Here's a sneak peek of what they had to say:

Kiper: You can talk all you want about the gap between the top of the SEC and schools such as Florida State trying to break down that door, but the Seminoles can now compete with anybody in the country because they're simply going to start overwhelming teams with talent, something that defined the previous era of dominance.

McShay: Based purely on talent, Florida State is capable of staying with or beating the elite SEC teams in a one-game scenario. But I'm not sure the Seminoles are where they need to be as a team yet in order to be considered as good as the best teams in the SEC.

ACC fans should hope the Seminoles get a chance to answer this question on the field come January.

Florida State quarterback EJ Manuel earns this week's national player of the week award.

Miami has the best chance to beat Florida State. They’re rivals. Anything can happen, right?

Well, maybe it’s Virginia Tech. Lane Stadium on a Thursday night. The Hokies can’t lose, right?

What about Florida? The Gators are looking better every week.

NC State has made a habit of beating either Florida State or Clemson, but not both in the same year. Last year it beat Clemson. Is it Florida State’s turn?

Bottom line: The rest of Florida State’s schedule is not easy. There are plenty of upsets in the making. The Seminoles are better than every opponent they’ve got left on the schedule and could go undefeated, but one of the hot topics on Monday’s chat was which remaining team has the best chance of beating Florida State this year? Miami got my vote. It’s time to cast yours.

Heather Dinich says which team left on Florida State's schedule has the best chance to beat the Noles.

The ACC has itself a bona fide Heisman Trophy candidate, folks!

1. EJ Manuel, QB, Florida State. The blog has been on EJ overload, and for good reason. He put up the best performance of his career in a comeback win over Clemson this past weekend. When you play that way in a national spotlight game, people will sit up and take notice. The 482 yards of total offense he racked up against the Tigers ranks No. 3 in the nation among all players in all games through the first four weeks. For that reason, Manuel went from no love in the ESPN.com Heisman Watch last week all the way up to No. 2 in the latest update today. Manuel is still well behind West Virginia quarterback Geno Smith, but he has passed players such as Kansas State quarterback Collin Klein and Oregon all-everything back De'Anthony Thomas. If Manuel keeps playing well and Florida State continues to win, he could have a seat reserved for him in New York City.

2. Tajh Boyd, QB, Clemson. Boyd was on the losing end of that game in Tallahassee, but he is still a player to keep an eye on as the season progresses. For one, Clemson still is nationally ranked and a team with a tremendous amount of talent. For another, Boyd did have some really nice plays against the Seminoles and led this team to a 28-14 lead into the third quarter. He finished with 237 yards passing, three touchdowns and a very costly interception in the second half, and I wouldn't completely count him out just yet. Boyd has 984 yards passing, nine touchdowns and two interceptions on the season.

3. Sammy Watkins, WR, Clemson. The same goes for Watkins, who had a handful of dazzling plays against Florida State -- but not enough to make a difference in the game. Florida State did an exceptional job shutting him down in the pass game, as his six receptions went for only 24 yards. His best play was his 52-yard touchdown throw to Andre Ellington. If Watkins is to truly remain a part of the Heisman conversation, he needs bigger games from here on out.

There were several outstanding performances in the ACC this past weekend, but none greater than what we saw out of Florida State quarterback EJ Manuel.

The senior set his Heisman campaign ablaze with a jaw-dropping performance in a 49-37 victory over Clemson on Saturday night in Tallahassee. Manuel threw for a career-high 380 yards with two touchdowns and ran 12 times for 102 yards to become the first FSU quarterback to pass for 300 yards and run for 100 yards in the same game since Charlie Ward did it against Maryland in 1992.

Ward won the Heisman in 1993.

The 482 yards of total offense gives Manuel the third-highest total by an ACC player against a nationally ranked team. Former FSU great Chris Weinke recorded the only two better performances, both in 2000. That includes a 509-yard effort against then 10th-ranked Clemson at Doak Campbell Stadium.

Weinke won the Heisman that same year.

It is too early in the season to start connecting the dots, but Manuel right now is the No. 1 ACC player in the Heisman race, and he should be getting plenty more love this week after that terrific performance. We saw a new level of efficiency and consistency from him in the first three games of the season. For him to carry that on against a nationally ranked opponent clearly speaks to the strides he has made in this, his senior season.

If he keeps this pace up, who knows where he could end up in early December.

"I just want to win games for my teammates," Manuel said after the game. "I’m not really about personal accolades and things like that. If it comes it does. I just want to win and leave a legacy at Florida State for our fans.”

Florida State was tested for the first time this season against Clemson, and the Tigers exposed a few flaws in the Seminoles' attack. But while the mistakes led to a an early deficit, FSU roared back for the win behind some star-making performances that should be remembered fondly come postseason awards time.

RISING

DT Timmy Jernigan, So. (Outland)
Jernigan had two tackles, including one for a loss, but was a force up the middle in the second half. As Clemson's offensive line wore down, Jernigan turned up the heat, and the pressure he got on Tajh Boyd in the second half helped turn the tide for FSU's defense.

S Lamarcus Joyner, Jr. (Bednarik, Nagurski, Thorpe)
His biggest impact came on special teams -- where his 90-yard kick return in the third quarter helped swing the momentum of the game in Florida State's favor -- but Joyner was also solid on defense. He finished with just three tackles, but it was obvious Clemson had identified Joyner as the biggest danger in FSU's secondary, and the Tigers' passing attack worked to avoid him. He was crucial in keeping Sammy Watkins to just 24 receiving yards on the day.

QB EJ Manuel, Sr. (Heisman, Maxwell, O’Brien)
Manuel turned in the best game of his career on perhaps the biggest stage of his career. His 380 yards passing and 102 yards rushing were both career highs, and it marked the first time since 1992 that an FSU quarterback topped 300 passing yards and 100 on the ground in the same game. For the season, he has eight passing TDs, one rushing, just one interception (on a drop by a receiver) and is completing better than 73 percent of his passes. Manuel was named the national offensive backfield player of the week and the Davey O'Brien player of the week for his performance, and he's vaulted to the forefront of the Heisman race.

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Sooo ... now what?

Florida State beat Clemson in what is likely to amount to the Atlantic Division championship game. Georgia Tech has all but played its way out of the Coastal Division race with two losses to division opponents.

Will the next nine Saturdays in the ACC really be as anticlimactic as they look right now?

Not in the ACC. Not possibly. Not in a league where a struggling, young Miami defense goes on the road and beats Georgia Tech. Not in a conference where a ranked Virginia Tech team loses to a pedestrian Pitt team. The ACC has developed a reputation for its unpredictability, and with a Coastal Division race that’s slowly unfolding and three teams that have yet to start conference play, there are still plenty of reasons to tune in.

The No. 1 reason is that Florida State’s season hasn’t ended yet and NC State’s is just beginning.

The Seminoles are hands-down the best team in the ACC this season. They’re also one of the best teams in the country. It’s a more mature, more focused group that is a legitimate national title contender with a Heisman-caliber quarterback in EJ Manuel. But FSU still travels to NC State, which is riding a three-game winning streak heading into its first conference game of the season. FSU still travels to rival Miami, which is 2-0 in conference play. And the Noles still travel to Blacksburg on a Thursday night. The rest of the Atlantic Division won't roll over for FSU. Expect the exact opposite: FSU will get everyone’s best shot.

Three ACC teams -- NC State, Maryland and Duke -- have yet to play a conference game. Three teams -- Florida State, Miami and Virginia Tech -- have yet to lose a conference game. With only one league loss, Virginia is just as much in the mix as anyone else. And Duke is already halfway to a bowl game. (Yes, Duke.)

Another very real possibility at this point: the long-awaited matchup between Florida State and Miami in the ACC championship game.

Virginia Tech’s Thursday night game at Miami on Nov. 1 could turn out to be a season-defining game in the Coastal Division race. And college football fans still want to keep an eye on Clemson. Although the Tigers lost control of their own destiny in the Atlantic Division race Saturday and need Florida State to lose to get back in the conversation, a one-loss season could add up to another at-large BCS bid for the ACC.

Or, knowing Clemson, the Tigers might lose at BC this weekend.

Saturday felt like November in the ACC, but there is still plenty to play for and even more to lose.

Heather Dinich talks about the performance of FSU quarterback EJ Manuel in the Noles' win over Clemson.