Jameis Winston 'should be good'

— -- TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Jameis Winston battled through a sprained right ankle against Louisville, but Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher is not overly concerned it will limit the No. 2 Seminoles' quarterback this week.

"Should be good," Fisher said when asked about the reigning Heisman Trophy winner's status for Saturday's game against Virginia. "... It's an injury but no different than anybody else's. A lot of guys got sore ankles right now."

In the third quarter against Louisville, Winston was hit and sprained his right ankle as a Cardinals player took him to the ground. Fisher said the injury affected Winston, but the redshirt sophomore managed to finish with 401 passing yards and three touchdowns in the Seminoles' 42-31 victory.

Fisher is taking a wait-and-see approach with Winston regarding his availability for practice this week, but he showed no angst when discussing Winston's injury.

"Pain is temporary," Fisher said, echoing Winston's postgame comments. "You got to put it away. The guys that can deal with and play with it are the guys [that succeed] in this game for a long time. I thought he dealt with it very well."

Winston, who is 21-0 in his career, has never missed a start because of injury.

Unlike last year, Florida State (8-0, 5-0 ACC) has had key players battle injuries on a weekly basis.

Redshirt junior linebacker Terrance Smith, who is second in the ACC with 10.2 tackles per game, should practice this week after missing the Louisville game as a late scratch with pectoral strain. Reserve linebackers E.J. Levenberry (concussion), Jacob Pugh (concussion) and Matthew Thomas (shoulder) should be healthy for Virginia (4-5, 2-3). Ukeme Eligwe is still suffering from a foot injury suffered in spring.

Offensively, Fisher is optimistic running back Mario Pender will play. He missed the past two games with an ankle injury suffered against Syracuse on Oct. 11. Left tackle Cam Erving, who had a wrap on his right arm against Louisville, does not have a serious injury, Fisher said.