Florida State is in a position it hasn’t been in since 1999, yet coach Jimbo Fisher doesn’t want to hear about it.
“No. 1 has nothing to do with it,” Fisher said Sunday of the Seminoles’ rise to No. 1 in the BCS standings, voter polls and computers. “I’m not worried about where we’re ranked. That will all take care of itself. What we need to focus on is preparing for a great game this week and playing a great game against Duke.
“The only thing we can control is how we play and what we do this week, and that’s what I’ll tell (the players).”
Not the only thing. FSU can control its path to the BCS championship game in Pasadena, Calif., too.
Florida State (12-0) faces No. 20 Duke (10-2) in Saturday night’s ACC championship game in Charlotte, N.C. A victory sends the Seminoles to the Jan. 6 national title game against likely either Ohio State or the winner of the SEC championship game between Auburn and Missouri.
The Seminoles are No. 1 after Alabama was upset 34-38 at Auburn on Saturday, a game that ended when the Tigers returned a missed 57-yard field-goal try more than 100 yards for the winning touchdown. FSU, which held the No. 2 spot in the BCS standings for the last four weeks, dominated Florida 37-7 on Saturday to seal its first undefeated regular season since 1999.
The last time Florida State was No. 1 in the BCS was 1999.
“This is one of the finest teams in recent memories in college football,” said Duke coach David Cutcliffe.
Ohio State (12-0) is No. 2, followed by Auburn (11-1), Alabama (11-1) and Missouri (11-1). Alabama, though, likely will be shut out of its bid to win a third consecutive title and fourth in fifth years if FSU defeats Duke. The Seminoles are 27.5-point favorites.
Ohio State is expected to hold on to the second spot in the BCS standings with a win over No. 10 Michigan State (11-1) in the Big Ten title game. If the Spartans pull the upset, the winner of the SEC championship game should rise to No. 2 and face FSU in the national title game, even if it’s Missouri, which likely would jump Alabama.
Central Florida (10-1) is No. 16 and one win away from securing its first major bowl berth. A victory at SMU (5-6) on Saturday would clinch the American Athletic Conference title for the Knights and an automatic BCS bowl bid. UCF likely would then play in either the Sugar Bowl or Fiesta Bowl.
FSU is seeking its 14th ACC title since joining the league in 1992 and second in a row. The Seminoles have played in three conference title games in Fisher’s four seasons.
Fisher said he comes into every season aiming to win the state championship (rivalry games against Miami and Florida), conference championship and national championship.
Step 1 was secured with the win at Florida. This coming Saturday is Step 2.
Then …
“We told them you are in the position you are in because of what you’ve done and this is the next step you have to take to reach some of the goals in which you have,” Fisher said.
Duke is the most unlikely of opponents. The Blue Devils didn’t receive one vote to win the Coastal Division of the ACC in a preseason poll of 120 media members. Yet Duke is one of three teams in the ACC to win at least 10 games and its 6-2 conference record is one game better than Virginia Tech, Miami and Georgia Tech in the Coastal.
The Blue Devils have won eight straight games, including holding on for a 27-25 win Saturday at rival North Carolina to clinch their first trip to the title game.
“I’ve told them all along you keep winning the next one gets even bigger, and now this is the biggest of all,” said Cutcliffe, who led Duke to the first 10-win season in its history. “We’re not just fortunate. We’re a good football team.”
Duke is 0-7 all time against teams ranked No. 1, with three of those loses coming to FSU. The Blue Devils run a two-quarterback system. Anthony Boone has thrown for 1,695 yards and 10 TDs, and Brandon Connette has 1,120 passing yards and 13 TDs and has run for 329 yards as well
Cutcliffe said the system has worked because of the unselfishness of his quarterbacks.
“We tried to make it fun as opposed to being something that can turn into a negative circumstance,” Cutcliffe said.
Fisher said the Blue Devils were on his radar about a month ago.
“I knew they were playing very well,” he said. “If they get hot I knew they could be there.”
Noteworthy: FSU junior offensive tackle Cameron Erving won the ACC's Jacobs Blocking Trophy on Sunday. Erving was voted the league's most outstanding blocker by head coaches and defensive coordinators.
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