Rose Bowl Position Breakdown

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Quarterbacks: The Rose Bowl is a matchup of the last two Heisman Trophy winners. Jameis Winston brings a 26 game winning streak as a starter into Pasadena while the reigning Heisman winner Marcus Mariota leads the fast-pace Oregon Duck offense. Mariota ended his Heisman campaign on a high note passing for 1003 yards with 9 touchdown passes in 3 games, including a 5 total touchdown performance in the Pac-12 championship. Jameis Winston is coming off one of his better games this season throwing for 3 touchdowns and 0 interceptions in the Seminoles 37-35 win in the ACC Championship. Winston's stats may not be appealing as last season's but the wins are still there. Expect both quarterbacks to put on a show for the NFL scouts. Advantage: Oregon


Running Backs: There will be some young talent on display at the running back position this game. Freshman Royce Freeman leads the read option attack for the Ducks rushing for a Oregon freshman record 1299 yards and 16 touchdowns. FSU brings a two-headed rushing attack in Freshman Dalvin Cook and Senior Karlos Williams. Cook lead the team in rushing yards with 905 while Williams lead the team in rushing touchdowns with 10. Royce Freeman will become one of the all-time greats for the Ducks but the depth at running back for the Seminoles will be seen throughout the game. Advantage: Florida State


Wide Receivers: The receiving corp for both teams is the most underrated position on each offense. The Ducks receivers are led by junior Bryon Marshall. Marshall is a threat in both the running and passing game for Oregon leading the team with three 100 yard games. Freshman Devon Allen leads Oregon with 7 touchdown receptions. Tight end Pharaoh Brown earned 1st Team All Pac-12 honors by catching 6 touchdowns this season and averaging 16.8 yards per catch.  For Florida State, senior Rashad Greene will be the go-to gut for Winston tomorrow night. Greene, an All-ACC 1st Team performer, leads the ACC in receptions and yards. Tight end Nick O'Leary aslo contributed to the receiver group this season. Another 1st Team All-ACC player, O'Leary is top 2 in the ACC in yards and touchdowns among tight ends. Advantage: Florida State

 Offensive Live: Both offensive lines are full of NFL talent. The Seminoles are lead up front by future 1st round pick Cameron Erving. Erving made All-ACC teams as a tackle (1st team) and guard (2nd team). On the offensive line are two other NFL draft picks in all-american Tre Jackson and Josue Matias. The Ducks have 2 All Pac 12 1st team offensive linemen. Center Hroniss Grasu and left tackle Jaker Fisher are both NFL caliber lineman and do an excellent job of blocking downfield. The Ducks have allowed 29 sacks this seasons (T-81st in NCAA), part in fact to Mariota's frequency to leave the pocket. Advantage: Florida State


Defensive Line:  Defensive tackle Eddie Goldman and defensive end Mario Edwards Jr. are arguable the best defensive line duo in the country. Both 1st team All-ACC members, Goldman lead the team with 4 sacks while Edwards lead the team with 11 tackles for loss. On the Ducks defensive line, Arik Armstead is a versatile lineman that commands double teams at times. DeForest Buckner leads Oregon with 12 tackles for loss. Advantage: Florida State


Linebackers: Reggie Northrup is top on the FSU defense with 113 tackles while outside linebacker Terrance Smith is second with 85. The FSU linebackers have had trouble with taking angles on option style quarterbacks this season. Oregon linebackers include senior Derrick Malone who is second on the team with 76 total tackles. With 6.5 sacks, Christian French is the Ducks leader in sacks. Both units struggled at times during the season. Expect this position to be the "X factor" in tomorrow's contest. Advantage: Oregon



Defensive Backs: With Ifo Ekpre-Olomu being out due to injury, that leaves a big hole in the Oregon secondary. 2nd team All Pac-12 safety Erick Dargan will have to step his game up even more to fill the void. Dargan leads the Ducks in tackles and interceptions. Freshman Chris Seisay will be asked to step in at the other cornerback spot opposite of senior Troy Hill. Florida State is loaded in the secondary. Lead by potential top-10 pick P.J. Williams, the Seminoles average an interception a game. With 2nd Team all-american Jalen Ramsey and former Freshman All-American Ronald Darby, Marcus Mariota will be facing his biggest challenge to date. Advantage: Florida State


Both teams are national powerhouses with extremely talented quarterbacks. What this game will ultimately come down to is which team has the depth to last til the last minutes of the game. Oregon is very talented on both sides of the ball and will be competitive throughout but I feel like Florida State will win the Rose Bowl and move on to the nationship championship. Score: Oregon 33 Florida State 38

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