The ACC has had some good quarterbacks in the past decade, and Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe and his team will go against another one Saturday when the Demon Deacons play host to Jameis Winston and No. 2 Florida State.
Winston (6-foot-4, 228 pounds), a redshirt freshman, is one of the top three contenders for the Heisman. He is averaging 312.8 passing yards per game with 24 TDs and six interceptions. He is completing 70.3 percent of his passes and also has added three rushing TDs.
"We look at him no differently than we've looked at the Russell Wilsons and Philip Rivers and all the great quarterbacks we've gone against," Grobe told the Winston-Salem (N.C.) Journal. "He's right in there."
Florida State has gained at least 489 yards in each of its eight games, has cracked 500 yards six times and put up 600 twice. The offense is loaded with experienced upperclassmen along the line, at tailback, at tight end and at wide receiver.
"Somebody was talking about how [Winston] smiles all the time," Grobe told the Journal. "I would smile, too, if I had those guys around me."
Wake's chances for an epic upset don't look good. Star wide receiver Michael Campanaro suffered a broken collarbone in last week's loss to Syracuse and will miss the rest of the regular season, which is a huge loss for an offense that lacks playmakers. In addition, history isn't on Wake's side: The Demon Deacons are 1-53 all-time against top-10 teams, with the only victory coming in 1946. Wake did win its most recent home game over FSU, in 2011, when future first-round pick E.J. Manuel was the Seminoles' quarterback.
Mike Huguenin can be reached at mike.huguenin@nfl.com. You also can follow him on Twitter @MikeHuguenin.
