Florida State football: Game-by-game predictions for 2020 season

In what was once the premier rivalry in the ACC and one of the most competitive rivalries in the entire country, Clemson’s rise to one of the dominant programs in the country has coincided with Florida State’s fall to the bottom half of the ACC.

The Tigers have won five straight in the series, the last three by at least 17 points. Trevor Lawrence is back for the Tigers, as well as running back Travis Etienne and they will be looking to make their sixth straight appearance in the College Football Playoff.

These two teams have been playing annually since 1992 and FSU leads the overall series 20-13, but these two programs have not played a truly competitive game since 2016. Hopefully Mike Norvell can get the Seminoles back on track and make this once great game competitive again, but these Tigers will be far too explosive for the Seminoles.

Final Score: Florida State 24, Clemson 42 (3-2, 1-1)

Wake Forest has built a solid program in recent season under head coach Dave Clawson, but Wake Forest has always historically struggled to compete with the powerhouse programs of the ACC and that is made obvious to their 7-30 record against the Seminoles.

Wake is a tough, physical team that plays good defense and that helps them stay competitive in most games. It will have to replace quarterback Jamie Newman, who has since transferred to Georgia to play out his senior season. New quarterback Sam Hartman has experience as the signal-caller and will have the luxury of throwing to one of the best receivers in the country in Sage Surratt.

This will be a bit of a reloading year for Wake, as Newman was a very solid quarterback for the program and he will be tough to replace. The defense slipped a little bit last year and was not playing their usual brand of football. I think Wake struggles to keep up with the athletes on FSU, especially on the road.

Final Score: Florida State 38, Wake Forest 21 (4-2, 2-1)