Rose Bowl Game Presented By Northwestern Mutual, Jan. 1

Florida State vs. Oregon

– The defending national champion has been shaky throughout the year fighting through close game after close game, and winning them all. Florida State knows how to turn it on when it had to, and with time off to heal up and get all the parts back in place, everything is there to repeat – or at least get back to the championship game. Is this a team that’s about to get exposed once it has to face one of the elite of the elite teams, or is this a team just waiting to explode now that it got through the regular season and is where it was expected to go after being named the preseason No. 1? With 29 wins in a row, the Seminoles know what they’re doing.

– Talk about getting revenge, Oregon ripped apart Arizona in the Pac-12 championship game to prove to the world that the 34-24 Wildcat win in Eugene was an aberration. With the nation’s most efficient passing attack, and third-best offense overall, everything is humming for a team that has everything working at the right time. This team can work with power, it can handle speed, and the defense showed over the final few weeks of the year that it can shut down anyone with a run defense that turned dominant. This is no longer the tippy-tappy offense that relies on a gimmick – this team can play football, and it’s really a true national title contender.

First Reaction: The 2013 Heisman winner will go off. Jameis Winston started to look the part again in the ACC championship, and he’ll be focused and fantastic in Pasadena after first showing off his fourth quarter prowess the last time he played in the Rose Bowl. Unlike the 2014 BCS championship, this time around the opponent will close well. Oregon will do a little of everything on the Seminoles with power up the middle, speed on the outside, and a flawless performance from the 2014 Heisman winner as Marcus Mariota carries his ultra-efficient offense to Texas. The Noles will come back, but they’ll fall just short.

First Prediction: Oregon 38 … Florida State 34