TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — About 45 minutes after leading Florida State to a thrilling 31-27 victory against Notre Dame on Saturday, Jameis Winston entered a crowded postgame interview area where a mix of news media, university officials and F.S.U. supporters waited.
In his navy blazer and peach shirt complemented by a patterned tie, Winston looked presidential.
“Good evening,” he said as he sat down.
Winston had turned in an outstanding performance, outdueling Notre Dame’s Everett Golson in a call-and-response battle of quarterbacks before a crowd of 82,431 at Doak Campbell Stadium: You score, I score; you respond, I answer.
This was a great shootout between two immensely talented college quarterbacks. Golson finished 31 of 52 with three touchdown passes and seemed primed to lead the Irish to an upset.
But as he has done throughout his two seasons at Florida State, Winston rallied the Seminoles, not just with his arm but with his fire on the sideline and in the locker room at intermission with the Seminoles trailing.
The Heisman Watch
Winston led Florida State to three consecutive scoring drives in the second half, completing 15 of 16 passes in a display that is likely to make N.F.L. scouts forget any concerns of character issues come the draft in June.
In many ways, Golson and Winston illustrate the talent-first imperative in the high-stakes, multibillion-dollar business of intercollegiate athletics. Both Golson and Winston have survived off-field transgressions — Golson missed the fall semester in 2013 at Notre Dame for academic reasons; Winston has faced numerous accusations, and missed one game last month for his behavior off the field — and the display of talent on Saturday helps suggest why.
It seems unlikely either would be back on the field if he were a marginal player. Perhaps neither would still be a student at his current university if he were not an enormously talented athlete.
Florida State is in the process of scheduling a student judiciary hearing for Winston in connection with a rape accusation from December 2012, when he was a freshman. On Friday, the university announced that it had not found any wrongoing by Winston in an investigation into whether he was paid for his autograph. Stan Wilcox, Florida State’s athletic director, said in a statement at that time that the university had no evidence that Winston took money in exchange for signing memorabilia.
After Saturday’s game, the only acknowledgement of controversy hanging over Winston or the university was an F.S.U. official’s announcement to the news media that it keep its questions focused on football. While no one asked directly about the investigation — or the autographs — there were questions about how the team was holding up “with everything going on.”
“One thing we are consistently proving is that we are winners,” Winston said. “And no matter what type of adversity we may face, we are family here at Florida State, and we play hard.
“The one thing people need to realize about the Seminoles team is when we’ve got our backs against the wall, we always rise.”
For all of Winston’s prowess as a quarterback, his versatility and charisma, the 20-year-old appears to be tone-deaf to the responsibility that comes with being one of the most highly visible athletes in the country. Perhaps it is too much to expect from a college student to soak in the limelight on the field and avoid the spotlight off it. But only some of the accusations surrounding Winston can be explained away as youthful transgressions.
And Florida State has not always helped his cause by allowing him back on the field.
Last month, Winston was suspended by Florida State after he shouted an obscenity of a sexual nature in the student union. The suspension was initially for the first half against Clemson, then for the game after a video of the incident spread quickly online and increased pressure on the university.
Given what it took to get the punishment up from two quarters to four, I doubt that there was ever a conversation about sitting Winston for the season. And, after experiencing the electric atmosphere of Saturday night’s game against Notre Dame, one could see why the university wants to keep him on the field.
Florida State understands what an undefeated season, and perhaps a second Heisman Trophy for Winston, could mean to the F.S.U. brand. Fund-raising initiatives always go better when a university is winning.
Through a spokesman, Garnett S. Stokes, Florida State’s interim president, declined to speak with me about the Winston investigation as did Wilcox.
Winston is expected to declare for the N.F.L. draft after this season, and who can blame him? He has made enough money for the university; now it is time for the quarterback to get paid.
I only hope he will learn the lesson of personal responsibility before then.
Some of what he has done off the field — stealing soda from a fast-food restaurant, shooting squirrels with BB guns — has been viewed as typical acts of 19- and 20-year-olds.
A number of Florida State officials and coaches I spoke with over the weekend pointed out that such things were no different from what many others, athletes or not, had done in their college years.
That may be true, but it is also the sort of enabling rationalization that allowed Winston to get on a table last month and shout obscenities.
The people at Florida State have not done a very good job of getting their Heisman winner to realize that he is the face of college football, and not just on the field.