LOS ANGELES -- On his way to a national championship and Heisman Trophy a season ago, Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston displayed remarkable poise, anticipation and command of the Seminoles offense. It was enough to cause a number of scouts to label him a future No. 1 overall pick someday after having so much success as just a redshirt freshman.
Winston's 2015 season, however, has been nothing but a roller coaster and a stark departure from his form just a few months ago. He's flashed that same talent from last season in a number of comeback wins to keep his team undefeated but has also seen his touchdown-to-interception ratio drop from 40:10 all the way down to 24:17 this season.
That's one reason why Winston earned only passing mention for this year's Heisman Trophy and has been overshadowed, to an extent, by his counterpart at Oregon in Marcus Mariota. Winston isn't hiding from the mistakes he made on the field this week in talking to Rose Bowl media, though -- he's addressing them head on.
"I'm not going to blame none of my guys. I forced a lot of passes this year, but it's a learning thing," Winston said. "It's not about you playing when everything is going good, it's how you react when things are going bad and not going your way. The fact that I have tremendous teammates that help me overcome all the turnovers that I have this year just makes me smile."
Winston (6-foot-4, 240 pounds) said his forced throws were due not to the young receivers who were worked into FSU's rotation this year or breakdowns in protection, but rather because he simply believed in his talent. That's what makes Winston's future NFL evaluation so intriguing when comparing and contrasting his two years in Tallahassee -- there are few quarterbacks who are more confident in their arm and ability to fit the ball in tight windows.
"I measure myself by the win column. When you do those things, like in the Florida game and I had four interceptions -- three in the first quarter -- we still pulled that game off," Winston said. "Those guys don't see me with my head down. I said we're still going to win the game. I know I messed up, but I'm going to come through in the clutch.
"I know when the time gets rough, I think I'm better than anybody in a hard time than anyone in the country."
Florida State is certainly counting on that in case it falls behind once again in its semifinal matchup against Oregon on New Year's Day.
You can follow Bryan Fischer on Twitter at @BryanDFischer.
