FSU Football: Top 5 QB Performances Under Jimbo Fisher

With six years under his belt as head football coach at Florida State, there’s no questioning Jimbo Fisher’s success. Since Fisher took over in 2010, the Seminoles have managed to go 68-14 with six ranked finishes, four major bowl appearances, three ACC championship and the 2013 national title.

While FSU has played great as a whole under Fisher, there are a number of individual performances that stick out as well. In a new series, we’ll be looking at the best individual games for Seminoles to play under Fisher. Our series begins with the quarterback position and the top 5 performances:

5. Everett Golson vs. Louisville (Oct. 17, 2015)
Stats: 26-for-38 passing, 372 yards, 3 touchdowns
Everett Golson spent just one year in Tallahassee, making eight starts, but none were better than last October’s performance against Louisville. Despite being under duress for most of the day, Golson passed for 372 yards and three scores. After trailing 7-6 at the break, Golson led five straight touchdown drives to open the second half in a 41-21 FSU victory.

4. Jameis Winston vs. Maryland (Oct. 5, 2013)
Stats: 23-for-32 passing, 393 yards, 5 touchdowns
Jameis Winston’s first ACC home start against a ranked Maryland team in 2013 led many to believe that Florida State was a legitimate title contender. In a 63-0 rout of the Terrapins, Winston passed for nearly 400 yards and five touchdowns to three different receivers. The 63 points scored would be an ACC-high for a Florida State team that would go on to score more points than any team in FBS history.

3. Jameis Winston at Clemson (Oct. 19, 2013)
Stats: 22-for-34 passing, 444 yards, 3 touchdowns, interception, rushing touchdown
In a match-up of top-5 teams, Florida State would score more points than any other road team to come into the place Clemson fans refer to as “Death Valley” and Jameis Winston was a big reason why. Winston passed for a career-high 444 yards and accounted for four total touchdowns as the Seminoles won at Clemson for the first time in 12 years, 51-14.

2. E.J. Manuel vs. Clemson (Sept. 22, 2012)
Stats: 27-for-35 passing, 380 yards, 2 touchdowns, 102 yards rushing
Florida State fans have mixed reviews of E.J. Manuel’s career at FSU, but in a match-up of top-10 teams at Doak Campbell Stadium in 2012, Manuel was flat out fantastic. Manuel accounted for nearly 500 yards of total offense in the 49-37 victory over Clemson and led five touchdown drives in FSU’s first six second half possessions. The win would give the Seminoles the inside track to winning the ACC Atlantic as FSU went on to claim its first conference title in seven years.

1. Jameis Winston at Pittsburgh (Sept. 2, 2013)
Stats: 25-for-27 passing, 356 yards, 4 touchdowns, rushing touchdown
It didn’t take long for Fisher and the Seminoles to realize they had something special in Jameis Winston. In his FSU debut at Pittsburgh on Labor Day as a redshirt freshman, Winston completed nearly 93 percent of his passes and accounted for five total scores in a 41-13 rout of the Panthers. Winston would go on to account for 44 touchdowns in 2013, becoming the youngest player to win the Heisman Trophy. His 2013 season would culminate in a touchdown pass to Kelvin Benjamin to give the Seminoles their first national championship in 14 years.

Honorable Mention

Christian Ponder — 2010 vs. North Carolina, 2010 vs. Florida.
E.J. Manuel — 2011 vs. Charleston Southern, 2012 vs. Boston College, 2012 vs. Virginia Tech
Clint Trickett — 2011 at Clemson
Jameis Winston — 2013 at Boston College, 2013 vs. Duke (ACC Championship), 2014 at N.C. State, 2014 at Syracuse, 2014 vs. Notre Dame, 2014 vs. Georgia Tech (ACC Championship)
Everett Golson — 2015 vs. Texas State, 2015 vs. Miami
Sean Maguire — 2015 vs. Syracuse