With a dazzling national TV debut against Pitt, Florida State’s freshman managed to surpass even the lofty expectations that followed him to Tallahassee. If you go by QBR, his performance was even better than the best of the last three Heisman winners.
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Here's how Florida State redshirt freshman Jameis Winston's game Monday compared to the best-ever efforts of the last three Heisman-winning quarterbacks against FBS teams (i.e. against reasonably-qualified opponents) using the QBR stat.
2010, Cam Newton: 9-of-14 for 186 yards and three touchdowns and 15 rushes for 171 yards and two touchdowns vs. Arkansas State. 246.6 quarterback rating.
2011, Robert Griffin III: 21-of-27 for 359 yards and five touchdowns and 10 rushes for 38 yards vs. TCU. 250.6 quarterback rating.
2012, Johnny Manziel: 14-of-20 for 267 yards and three touchdowns and one interception and 16 rushes for 102 yards and two touchdowns vs. Sam Houston State. 221.6 quarterback rating.
2013, WInston: 25-of-27 for 356 yards and four touchdowns and eight rushes for 25 yards and one touchdown.
Winston's quarterback rating against Pittsburgh? 252.2. Better than Cam or Manziel or RGIII's best game.
It was one of those rare performances that exceeded the hype, and Pittsburgh could not have been blamed for being unprepared for a redshirt freshman quarterback with not a snap of college football on his resumé before Monday. Winston's stat line from the first half alone was staggering: 17-of-18 for 240 yards and three touchdowns. By halftime, he was already trending on Twitter.
