ESPN's Stats & Information department took a closer look at the matchup between Florida State and Notre Dame in the Champs Sports Bowl, and found that FSU quarterback EJ Manuel is at his best when he's outside the pocket:

Manuel has completed 66.5 percent of his passes since the start of last season. The number jumps to 75.0 percent when he is outside of the pocket, where he throws a touchdown on one of every eight attempts.

Defensively, Florida State holds opponents to 2.3 yards per rush (fewest in FBS) because it does not allow opponents to gain yards in chunks.

Fewer than a quarter of Florida State opponents’ rushes gain five or more yards, as the Seminoles have only allowed 104 rushes of 5-plus yards on 423 attempts.

Florida State could have a home field advantage staying in-state for its bowl game, as ESPN's Stats & Info department learned that Notre Dame can't complete downfield passes away from South Bend.

Tommy Rees and Andrew Hendrix were a combined 7-20 with an interception on throws of 10 yards or longer against Stanford. It was the fourth time in five games away from South Bend that the Irish failed to complete at least 50 percent of these throws.