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2012 Florida State

12–⁠2 (7–⁠1 Atlantic Coast Conference), coached by Jimbo Fisher, finished No. 10 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Florida State in 2012, game by game: won vs. Murray State 69–3; won vs. Savannah State 55–0; won vs. Wake Forest 52–0; won vs. No. 10 Clemson 49–37; won at South Florida 30–17; lost at NC State 16–17; won vs. Boston College 51–7; won at Miami 33–20; won vs. Duke 48–7; won at Virginia Tech 28–22; won at Maryland 41–14; lost vs. No. 6 Florida 26–37; won vs. Georgia Tech 21–15; won vs. No. 16 Northern Illinois 31–10+66−11Won 69–3 vs. Murray State+66Murray StateWon 55–0 vs. Savannah State+55Savannah StateWon 52–0 vs. Wake Forest+52Wake ForestWon 49–37 vs. No. 10 Clemson+12No. 10 ClemsonWon 30–17 at South Florida+13South FloridaLost 16–17 at NC State-1NC StateWon 51–7 vs. Boston College+44Boston CollegeWon 33–20 at Miami+13MiamiWon 48–7 vs. Duke+41DukeWon 28–22 at Virginia Tech+6Virginia TechWon 41–14 at Maryland+27MarylandLost 26–37 vs. No. 6 Florida-11No. 6 FloridaWon 21–15 vs. Georgia Tech+6Georgia TechWon 31–10 vs. No. 16 Northern Illinois+21No. 16 Northern Illino…
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 1vsMurray StateW 69–⁠389%
Sep 8vsSavannah StateW 55–⁠097%
Sep 15vsWake ForestW 52–⁠080%
Sep 22vs10ClemsonW 49–⁠3763%
Sep 29atSouth FloridaW 30–⁠1769%
Oct 6atNC StateL 16–⁠1762%
Oct 13vsBoston CollegeW 51–⁠785%
Oct 20atMiamiW 33–⁠2063%
Oct 27vsDukeW 48–⁠782%
Nov 8atVirginia TechW 28–⁠2268%
Nov 17atMarylandW 41–⁠1483%
Nov 24vs6FloridaL 26–⁠3763%
Dec 1vsGeorgia TechACC Championship GameW 21–⁠1572%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs16Northern IllinoisOrange BowlW 31–⁠1052%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Northern Illinois 31–⁠10 in the Orange Bowl; No. 10 in the final AP poll; Atlantic Coast Conference champions.

In program history: The 18th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 78 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 7
  2. Wk 2: 6
  3. Wk 3: 5
  4. Wk 4: 4
  5. Wk 5: 4
  6. Wk 6: 3
  7. Wk 7: 12
  8. Wk 8: 12
  9. Wk 9: 11
  10. Wk 10: 9
  11. Wk 11: 8
  12. Wk 12: 10
  13. Wk 13: 10
  14. Wk 14: 13
  15. Wk 15: 13
  16. Final: 10

Atlantic Coast Conference champions7–⁠1 in the conference, won the ACC Championship Game

Consensus All-AmericanBjörn Werner, DL

Record
12–⁠2
Conference
7–⁠1 shared first in Atlantic Coast Conference
AP final
No. 10 peak No. 3
Points
550–⁠206
Coach
Jimbo Fisher
Elo
1759 +118 this season
SP+ rating
30.8 No. 2 of 124; offense No. 13, defense No. 5, special teams No. 2
SRS
15.8 No. 11 of 124 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 4
Offensive coordinator
James Coley
Defensive coordinators
Mark Stoops and D.J. Eliot
Captains
Toshmon Stevens, Vince Williams, Everett Dawkins, Anthony McCloud, Nick Moody and E.J. Manuel
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
Multiple 4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense6th of 124
  • Defense2nd of 124
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted6th of 124
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted3rd of 124
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1549%0.926th of 124
Defense-0.0633%0.912nd of 124
Opponent-adjusted0.13 off
-0.02 def		48% off
35% def		—6th off
3rd def
How these are measured

Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense0.1own 342% allowed
Defense-0.3own 272% caused

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. From CollegeFootballData.com.

Leaders

Passing yardsE.J. Manuel QB3,392 yds
Passing touchdownsE.J. Manuel QB23 TD
Rushing yardsChris Thompson RB687 yds
Rushing touchdownsJames Wilder Jr. WR11 TD
Receiving yardsKenny Shaw WR532 yds
Receiving touchdownsKelvin Benjamin WR4 TD
InterceptionsTyler Hunter DB3 INT

Top recruits in the 2012 class

Mario Edwards DT★★★★★No. 2
Eddie Goldman DT★★★★★No. 10
Jameis Winston DUAL★★★★★No. 16
Ronald Darby CB★★★★★No. 25
Chris Casher WDE★★★★★No. 29
Mario Pender RB★★★★★No. 37
Ukeme Eligwe OLB★★★★No. 68
P.J. Williams S★★★★No. 118

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2012 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks24.00.932
Running backs15.00.984
Receivers24.00.928
Defensive line54.60.962
Linebackers24.00.932
Defensive backs34.30.946
Athletes and specialists23.00.833
Whole class174.20.934

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Drafted in 2013

The 2013 draft
Rd 1E.J. Manuel QBBuffalo Bills
Rd 1Bjoern Werner DEIndianapolis Colts
Rd 1Xavier Rhodes CBMinnesota Vikings
Rd 2Cornellius (Tank) Carradine DESan Francisco 49ers
Rd 2Menelik Watson OTOakland Raiders
Rd 5Chris Thompson RBWashington Redskins
Rd 5Brandon Jenkins OLBWashington Redskins
Rd 6Dustin Hopkins KBuffalo Bills
Rd 6Nick Moody OLBSan Francisco 49ers
Rd 6Vince Williams ILBPittsburgh Steelers
Rd 7Everett Dawkins DTMinnesota Vikings

Roster 110

The 2012 roster

110 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2012 line; 29 have a stat line. See the roster

2012 Atlantic Coast Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Florida State7–⁠112–⁠210
Clemson7–⁠111–⁠211
North Carolina5–⁠38–⁠4
Miami5–⁠37–⁠5
Georgia Tech5–⁠37–⁠7
Virginia Tech4–⁠47–⁠6
NC State4–⁠47–⁠6
Duke3–⁠56–⁠7
Wake Forest3–⁠55–⁠7
Maryland2–⁠64–⁠8
Virginia2–⁠64–⁠8
Boston College1–⁠72–⁠10

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.