Written by Danny Morales
Florida State will face Oregon in the Rose Bowl as a part of the first-ever semifinal of the newly instilled College Football Playoff in Pasadena, California on Thursday, Jan 1.
The Seminoles will be traveling to the Rose Bowl for the second year in a row, this time as the No. 3 team in the country. Oregon got the No. 2 spot in Sunday’s CFB Playoff Selection Show.
Oregon is third in the nation averaging 46.3 points per game with Heisman candidate Marcus Mariota, who is fifth in the country with 3,783 yards for the season.
Mariota and the Ducks don’t turn the ball over much either, as the senior signal-caller has only two interceptions to his 38 passing touchdowns for a touchdown-to-interception ratio of 19. He also leads the nation with a 186.3 QB rating.
FSU is currently riding a school record 29-game winning streak and are coming off a 37-35 win over Georgia Tech in the ACC Championship game. Quarterback Jameis Winston is coming off one of his better games of the season, going 21-of-30 passing for 309 yards and three touchdowns against the Yellow Jackets.
Freshman running back Dalvin Cook has emerged as a real offensive weapon for the Seminoles and has rushed for 489 yards over the last four games, including his 177-yard performance in the championship game that earned him MVP honors.
Oregon opens up as an 8-point favorite in Vegas, but Florida State and Winston have a knack for showing up in big games.
” I think we prepare better when it’s playing against (in) playoff games or big-time games because we’ve got a different attitude;” said Winston after the ACC Championship game. “We want to win a championship. Everyone wants to win a championship.”
The Ducks and Seminoles will battle for a spot in the College Football Playoff final in Arlington, Texas with a win in the Rose Bowl on January 1. Kickoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. EST from Pasadena, California.
