Jameis Winston still plays starring role as supporting cast bails out Florida State

Somehow Jameis Winston remains both a sideshow and a centerpiece.

Saturday's entire primetime game was all about the Heisman winner, even though he didn't play a down. From the moment Winston showed up for warm-ups in his helmet and pads for no reason to the moment he barreled into the victorious Seminoles mob in his just-bought-it-at-the-souvenir-stand cap, TV cameras had a reason to swivel to him.

It's both disturbing and amazing how relevant Winston is. He was benched for the first half of his team's 23-17 win over Clemson for making a stupid decision in a school cafeteria, benched for the second half for making another stupid decision when confronted with his actions, and then clearly was still needed by his team throughout the game because, in the heat of the moment, he would have made the smart decision.

Florida State escaped Saturday with its title hopes still intact, but only because Clemson handed over the game with a key fourth-quarter fumble and an ill-advised fourth-down play call in overtime. The Seminoles won with a Karlos Williams run-off touchdown, and now a long-overdue comeuppance is yet another learning experience for Teflon Jameis.

After the win, Jimbo Fisher told ABC that he's a good young man and he'll learn, but even Florida State fans are tired of that line. People who were wild about Jameis last year were downright salty as backup Sean Maguire struggled to keep up with Clemson's emerging star passer, Deshaun Watson.

"I hate him," one fan said of Winston. "I used to love him. Now I hate him."

Of course she watched the whole game anyway, because her favorite team is still tops in the nation and her former-favorite player is still such a talking point. Winston's perplexing decision to run out for warm-ups in full gear and even take some snaps brought a look of complete exasperation to Fisher's face well before kickoff. The entire college football world saw Winston in his helmet and wondered, "Will he ever get it?"

Perhaps not. The man has been implicated in a rape investigation, has been accused of more than one petty crime, and now has reportedly fibbed to school officials about whether he jumped onto a table to shout an obscene phrase in front of dozens of students with ever-ready smartphones. It's remarkable how fast someone so loved can wear out his welcome. Winston was nothing less than refreshing when he appeared on the scene as a redshirt freshman a little over a year ago. He told reporters to bop him on the head with their microphones if he ever got "Manziel disease." He was by turns charming, hilarious, charismatic, and really good at football.

All he has left is the really-good-at-football part. And that became clear once again Saturday, as a game Florida State should have dominated was in serious doubt throughout. A team that flat-out knew it could roll over any opponent with its mammoth offensive line last season suddenly couldn't block Vic Beasley or anyone else Clemson brought. A running game that only made Winston more effective last season was inert while Maguire tried to get his footing. The visiting team had a 17-10 lead late and it felt like more than that.

Clemson had the game in hand until it dropped it onto the turf.

If the Tigers had simply wrapped up the ball, or simply called a quarterback sneak on fourth-and-1 in overtime, then Winston may have had to face a hard truth for once. He would have had to deal with the consequences of his actions. Florida State would have been out of the playoff chase, at least in the short term, and the blame would've went to Winston. It would have been appropriate, too, as he posted a photo of Clemson's stadium on social media last season and called it "Our House" after he led a primetime thrashing of the Tigers. It was another example of, "Dude, you just don't do that." But Winston will probably never have to face Clemson again. Assuming he heads to the NFL after this season, the last moment of his last Florida State game against this rival will have featured him darting onto the field to scream, "YEAH BOY!" and dogpile with his friends. Cameras, of course, followed him into the scrum.

Consequences are still shadowing Winston, to be sure. The sexual assault case from last year, although Winston was legally absolved, still led to an ongoing school investigation of him and a Department of Education investigation of the school. Winston's antics in the cafeteria earlier in the week would have likely been ignored if it wasn't for that extremely serious backdrop.

And Winston can't simply gallivant into the first round of the NFL Draft anymore, not when the league is being extra careful about players with questionable ethics. The man can sling a football, but seemingly no player is worth off-the-field trouble in the post-Ray-Rice era. Winston is still a future pro, but he likely lost a lot of money this week.

For now, he's still the king of his wobbly world, still the emperor with no pads. A lot of people are sick of his act – even FSU fans – and yet those people are watching him play. Saturday could have been the moment the S.S. Jameis finally hit the rocks, but instead it sails on towards Jerryworld. After the game, Fisher was asked if he still believes he has the best team in college football. "Sure do," he said.

The Seminoles are No. 1 unless somebody finally defeats them, and Jameis is their guy unless he finally defeats himself.