Most years, the annual Florida State football game against Clemson decides the ACC Atlantic champion. This is not like most years.
For the Tigers, the first of three parts to defending their national championship begins with the Seminoles on Saturday at home. Defeat FSU and claim a spot in the ACC title game in December. From there, Dabo Swinney‘s group can earn a third league title and likely a spot in the College Football Playoff.
But first things first for the Tigers (8-1, 6-1 ACC) and that is Jimbo Fisher’s Seminoles (3-5, 3-4 ACC), who snapped a two-game losing streak last week with a 27-24 win over Syracuse.
Florida State has experienced a season not many have seen in many seasons, losing to Alabama to start and seeing starting quarterback Deondre Francois go down late in the contest. Weather caused issues with the planned schedule, and losses to NC State and Miami left the ‘Noles at 1-3 after four games.
This week has brought two good news items with it, as running back Jacques Patrick returned to practice and the team was able to re-schedule the Louisiana-Monroe game for December. That is important because it gives Florida State four chances to win three games and become bowl eligible for a 36th consecutive season.
While the Seminoles are just fighting to keep above water, Clemson is looking to remain in the Top-4 for a CFP spot. After a three-point road loss to Syracuse last month, the Tigers have responded with wins over Georgia Tech and NC State.
In September, Clemson built up its resume with wins over Top-15 teams Auburn, Louisville and Virginia Tech. The Tigers finish with The Citadel and South Carolina. They would play Miami in the ACC championship game if they can get by Florida State or NC State drops another league game.
Here’s how to watch Saturday’s Clemson vs. Florida State game:
Date: Saturday, Nov. 11
Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
Location: Clemson, S.C.
Venue: Memorial Stadium.
TV: ESPN
Live Stream: WatchESPN
Keys to Victory
The key to victory for Clemson is a simple one: avoid looking past Florida State. The Seminoles are a far cry from national title contenders, but they are still Florida State and present a team loaded with talented players.
Kelly Bryant‘s return to the starting lineup two weeks ago against Georgia Tech helped get the Tigers back on track. With his arm and legs, Bryant is a perfect fit for an offense that can rely on a strong defense to help them out.
The Wolfpack exposed some holes in Clemson’s defense last week, though, and you can bet Fisher and his coaches have been breaking the film down play-by-play since.
If Clemson can force James Blackman to beat them by taking away Cam Akers and Patrick, if he returns, they should be able to find success with Travis Etienne, Tavien Feaster and Bryant in the run game, along with Deon Cain and Hunter Renfrow through the air.
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Prediction
If it was anybody else Clemson was playing this week, concern for a letdown would be there. But you better believe Swinney has been preaching the importance of taking care of business before anything else, and that starts with reminding his players the team on the other side of the field is Florida State.
Prediction: Clemson 42, Florida State 17