Florida State reaches new deal with Jimbo Fisher that puts coach among 10 highest paid in nation

“He’s obviously doing a a good job, so he deserves it,” Florida State president Eric Barron said on the field Saturday night after Florida State defeated Duke 45-7 to win the ACC championship.

Fisher is 44-10 in his four years since replacing Bobby Bowden. He has led FSU to its first No. 1 ranking since 2000 and — after Saturday’s win — a berth in the national championship gamefor the first time since the 2000 season.

The Seminoles have played in three ACC title games under Fisher and Fisher’s .814 winning percentage is the highest in ACC history. Additionally, Fisher is 7-1 against FSU’s biggest rivals, Miami and Florida.

The top 10 college coaches in the country made an average of about $5.0 million this season. Of them, only Alabama’s Nick Saban, whose $5.55 base salary is tops in the nation, and Ohio State’s Urban Meyer, who makes $4.6 million, has their team in the top 10 of the current BCS standings.

Fisher’s original head coaching contract was for five-years and a base salary of $1.8 million. He then signed his current a five-year, $13.75 million contract in January 2011 after going 10-4 in 2010, his first as head coach. That contract was extended by one year but without a raise through the 2016 season following the 2011 season.

The university had discussions with Fisher about an extension and raise following last year, but university president Eric Barron decided against it.

Fisher is in position to earn an additional $675,000 in bonuses this season if the Seminoles win the national championship. Among his bonuses: $125,000 for playing in the title game, $125,000 for winning the national championship, $100,000 for finishing in the top 5 of the Associated Press poll, $100,000 for going undefeated.

Winston climbing: Jameis Winston's 14-yard touchdown pass to Kelvin Benjamin in the second quarter gave him 36 on season, which tied the ACC single season record set by Clemson's Tajh Boyd last season. Winston also tied the NCAA freshman record set in 2008 by Oklahoma's Sam Bradford.

Scoring machine: Florida State has scored 689 points on the season, which is a school and ACC record.

The Seminoles, though, are closing in on the NCAA record of 716 points scored by the 2008 Oklahoma team which was led by Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Sam Bradford.

The Sooners also set four other NCAA scoring records; touchdowns in a season with 99, rushing and passing touchdowns in a season with 96, extra points scored by kicking with 94 and most consecutive games scoring 60 points with five.

The Seminoles have now scored 90 touchdowns, 81 rushing and passing; Roberto Aguayo has converted all 90 of his PAT attempts and FSU scored at least 60 points three times.

FSU’s streak of 12 straight games with at least 40 points tied the FBS record.

Winston a lock: Heismanpundit.com has correctly predicted the winner of the Heisman Trophy since it started in 2006. Chris Huston, its creator, has no doubt who he believes will pick up the award next Saturday.

“Jameis Winston was going to win before (it was announced he would not be charged in a sexual assault investigation that ended Wednesday),” Huston said last week. “But it was not going to be an easy victory. A lot of voters were very conflicted. The Heisman Trust was looking as an absolutely horrible scenario if the legal case wasn’t resolved before the voting deadline. But now that the voters have this information, it is assured that he will win quite comfortably. I will be a near landslide.”

Bowls boost ACC: Fisher defended FSU's strength of schedule on Friday, pointing the ACC's bowl bounty. The conference has 11 bowl-eligible teams. The SEC has 10, the Pac-12 has nine.

“I know in the ACC we have 11 teams bowl-eligible,” Fisher said. “I don’t know if anybody else has that, so I would say our strength of schedule is pretty good by playing in this conference.

“I think our conference has to take a backseat to nobody.”

Future of ACC title game: Saturday's game was the last ACC Championship Game under the current agreement to be played in Charlotte. ACC athletic directors and city officials, though, expect a new deal to be signed in January to keep the game here.

The first four title games were held in Florida, two in Jacksonville and two in Tampa. The Jacksonville games drew 73,749 and 63,850 fans. The games in Tampa were a huge disappointment with crowds of 53,212 and 27,360 for Boston College vs. Virginia Tech.

The move to Charlotte has been successful. The first two games (FSU-Virginia Tech and Clemson-Virginia Tech) were sellouts (approximately 73,000). Last year’s game between FSU and Georgia Tech drew 64,778, largely due to Georgia Tech backing into the game with a 6-6 record.