Expected to Dazzle, Jameis Winston and Florida State Survive

ARLINGTON, Tex. - The slogan sounded fairly benign, a nifty play on words that the Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston used to describe where Florida State would begin the season and where they hoped to play their final game.

Winston tossed out the catchphrase 'Dallas to Dallas' in February when he went to Texas to accept the Davey O'Brien Award as the nation's top college quarterback. It quickly morphed into #Dallas2Dallas, a mantra the Seminoles have used to fuel their off-season motivation to win back-to-back national championships.

What seemed harmless was officially removed from the team lexicon the other day by Coach Jimbo Fisher, who told players to stop using the phrase as they began defense of last season's title and perfect record.

The Seminoles are playing against history and a reconfigured national landscape that now includes a four-team playoff. The F.S.U. quest to not only repeat but win the fourth national title in program history began here Saturday night at AT & T Stadium against Oklahoma State and could end here on Jan. 12 at this year's national championship game.

'We're not worried about reaching the national championship.' Fisher said. 'We're worried about playing well. Our goal is to be in the national championship every year. I want this team to be the best team it can be and play as good as it can play. Then we'll live with the results.'

Should F.S.U. complete that journey it would accomplish something it never did under Coach Bobby Bowden, whose teams won at least 10 games and finished ranked in the top 5 for 14 consecutive seasons. Bowden teams also won national championships in 1993 and 1999, but never captured consecutive titles.

The 1999 Seminoles were the first team to go an entire season as the No. 1-ranked team - a feat matched by Southern California in 2004. The Seminoles have a chance at doing that again; they entered this season as the No. 1 team.

F.S.U. must still navigate a schedule that includes Clemson on Sept. 20, Notre Dame in October and state rivals Miami and Florida in November, followed by a potential Atlantic Coast Conference title game and perhaps a spot in the national semifinals. Run that gauntlet and the Seminoles would return here for college football's first championship game in the post-Bowl Championship Series era. Pundits have pretty much given them a pass into the semifinals.

Winston, a sophomore, returns for a shot at becoming the second player to win two Heisman Trophies and does so behind an offensive line that returns four starters. The Seminoles are loaded with talent and depth at every position with the possible exception of wide receiver, but even there the players have seen enough action to be considered experienced.

This all circles back to Fisher's style of using quips to get his players to focus. After nixing 'Dallas to Dallas,' Fisher implored his team to follow another slogan - 'Don't eat the cheese' - a strong suggestion that they not believe the hype and deflect questions about their dominance.

The Seminoles topped the preseason rankings in a landslide, receiving all but nine first-place votes combined in two major polls. Alabama, Oregon and Oklahoma got one vote each for No. 1 in the Associated Press poll, but six coaches spread their ballots around in the USA Today ranking, giving Oklahoma three nods for No. 1 and one each to Oregon, Ohio State and South Carolina.

Facing Oklahoma State this early in the season gives the Seminoles a step up in what the selection committee has said would be a major factor in determining college football's first playoff bracket - strength of schedule. The Cowboys might be unranked and lumped among others receiving top 25 votes, but they've compiled a 59-19 record since 2008, having won at least 10 games in three of the past four seasons, and carry the perception of a perennial contender on the Big 12 and national stage.

Now all F.S.U. needs to do is finish among the top four, which would give the Seminoles a chance to go round trip, 'Dallas to Dallas.'

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