Five days before his Florida State team meets Notre Dame in one of the biggest games of the season, Seminoles coach Jimbo Fisher expressed frustration with the media and its coverage of quarterback Jameis Winston during his weekly Monday news conference.
While Fisher declined to comment on details of Winston's upcoming school hearing, he did say he wasn't concerned about Winston missing any games.
"I know the facts of the case," Fisher said. "The facts haven't changed in the case. We know the reports; we know everything that's out there. There's nothing new that's been out there. We've been through this."
Fisher also said, "There was no victim because there was no crime," and that "this country is based on innocent until proven guilty, not guilty until proven innocent."
Friday, FSU officials notified Winston that he faces a disciplinary hearing to determine whether he violated the university's student conduct code in an alleged sexual assault in December 2012.
Fisher also said he believes in Winston "100 percent" and that he has grown tired of media reports that don't tell the whole story. He also said the media needs to be careful about writing stories based on opinion and not facts. Recent stories by the New York Times and FoxSports.com have criticized police and the university on how they have handled investigations involving Winston.
Even though Saturday's game features two of the six unbeaten teams remaining, the Winston storyline is sure to dominate pregame talk. The game also matches two of the top quarterbacks in the nation in Winston and Notre Dame's Everett Golson, who guided the Irish to the BCS national championship game after the 2012 season before missing last season because of an academic suspension.
» Scout's Take: Golson showing NFL promise
Fisher did say he was worried about his defense going against Golson: "We'll have to contain him. He can beat you with his legs, he can beat you with his arm."
Golson has accounted for 20 TDs, two more than he had in the 2012 season.
Mike Huguenin can be reached at mike.huguenin@nfl.com. You also can follow him on Twitter @MikeHuguenin.
