Even in victory, Florida State showed it's no longer elite

A year ago, the Florida State Seminoles went into Death Valley as underdogs and throttled the higher-seeded Clemson Tigers. 

This year, it was those very Seminoles who put the nation's longest active winning streak on the line, and needed everything they had to keep that streak alive.

The streak may be ongoing, and they'll likely hang onto the top seed when the AP poll is released Sunday, but Florida State continued to show vulnerabilities that go way beyond quarterback play.

The Seminoles were content to sit on their lead and play for overtime with the game tied 17-17 in the late stages of the fourth quarter. Sean Maguire threw for 305 yards through three quarters, but head coach Jimbo Fisher didn't have enough trust in him to give him a shot at moving the offense 55 yards in 1:36 to set up a potential game-winning field goal.

After four quarters of watching Maguire get tenderized behind a supposedly elite offensive line, one would be hard-pressed to blame him. But nevertheless, Nick Saban rolls the dice in that situation. So does Mark Helfrich. So does Bob Stoops.

Would the script have been different with Jameis Winston under center? Sure. But this was a game against an over-seeded and rebuilding Clemson squad in Tallahassee.

The Seminoles' ground game was a critical, if underrated, part of the team's championship run a year ago. But in arguably the biggest game on their schedule Florida State received only 35 yards combined from Karlos Williams and Mario Ponder on 16 carries in regulation.

On the defensive side of the ball, a stop unit that allowed only three of 14 opponents to eclipse 14 points a year ago allowed an unproven, albeit talented freshman quarterback in Deshaun Watson to do what he needed.

Even the 17 points the Seminoles allowed Saturday isn't an accurate reflection of how they fared, as a poor day from Clemson kicker Ammon Lakip - in which he missed a pair of very makeable field goals - saved the unit from further misery.

Winston will be back next week, and the schedule will soften leading up to an Oct. 18 matchup with Notre Dame, who themselves have a slew of warts. But the end goal for this Florida State team goes beyond regular season victories. Their sights are set on a successful debut in the College Football Playoff, emerging victorious in the same way they did to open the BCS-era.

There may not be a runaway favorite in college football this season, and that's just fine. But it's time to re-evaluate Florida State's inclusion in the nation's top-four alongside Oregon, Alabama, and Oklahoma.

The Seminoles don't have a win to hang their hat on, have scraped by in the only two games in which they faced legitimate competition, and didn't blow away a team they should have dominated.

If the ball hit Lakip's boot a little differently, we'd have no trouble unseating them then.