Seminoles out to lock up spot in national title game

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Duke cornerback Ross Cockrell is not offended the No. 20 Blue Devils are a 29-point underdog to Jameis Winston and top-ranked Florida State for Saturday night’s ACC championship game.

“Florida State has been blowing everybody out,” he said.

The Seminoles (12-0, 8-0) have won by an average of 54-11 this season behind Winston, who set ACC freshman records by throwing for 3,490 yards and 35 touchdowns. They have defeated all but one of their opponents by at least 27 points.

Now all that stands in the way of the Seminoles reaching the BCS national championship game at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif., is an inexperienced Duke (10-2, 6-2) team appearing in its first ACC title game.

“I’ve had the good fortune through the years to play some No. 1 teams in this profession, some of them looked like No. 1 teams, some of them didn’t,” Duke coach David Cutcliffe said. “Florida State certainly is.”

The Blue Devils are in many respects the ultimate underdog. They emerged from the weaker side of the conference. They’re 0-12 all-time facing No. 1-ranked teams and 0-18 against the Seminoles.