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Like it or not, teams’ title hopes could hinge on freshmen playcallers

College football’s biggest names may need to do something no team has done in three decades if they want to win a national championship this season: start a true freshman at quarterback.

The 1985 season was the last time a true freshman quarterback (Oklahoma's Jamelle Holieway) carried their team to a national title. Even then, he only came in for an injured Troy Aikman before leading the Sooners to an 11-1 record and an AP national title.

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The closest a team has come to replicating that feat is Florida State, which won the 2013 title with then-redshirt freshman Jameis Winston (plus nine future first- and second-round NFL Draft picks).