By Will Vandervort.

By Will Vandervort

CLEMSON — Last year, Clemson was 7-0 inside the friendly confines of Death Valley. The Tigers were untouchable as they won those seven games by an average of 13.8 points.

This season, No. 10 Clemson is once again off to a great start in Death Valley, winning its first two games at Memorial Stadium by 25 and 34 points. Since Dabo Swinney became the head coach halfway through the 2008 season, the Tigers have an impressive 23-4 record at home and have won nine straight – the longest home-winning streak since 1989-’91 when Clemson won 11 in a row.

But as good as the Tigers have been at home lately they have been equally as bad on the road. Under Swinney, Clemson is 7-11 away from Death Valley, and comes into Saturday’s showdown at fourth-ranked Florida State with a three-game losing streak in true road games.

“The top teams, the championship teams, win on the road,” Clemson quarterback Tajh Boyd said. “Of course, you are going to win at home, but you have to win on the road and especially in situations like these. I feel like this program is on its way to getting to where it is supposed to be and needs to be, and again, games like this clarify what kind of program you want to be.

“For both schools, this is a big game. It can boost both programs. So it is going to be fun.”

What’s also fun is seeing how dominate Florida State has been at home this season. This will be the Seminoles fourth straight game at Doak Campbell Stadium as they have easily beat Murray State, Savannah State and Wake Forest. But FSU was only 5-2 at home last year, losing to Virginia and to Oklahoma, defensive coordinator Brent Venables old team.

“I was down there last year, and it will be the same type of setting,” he said. “It will be a fantastic atmosphere and a very intense atmosphere. A lot will be on the line and at stake. That’s exciting. The challenge of it and thinking about it is exciting.

“There are a lot of coaches and players that coach and play in this profession and they never have the opportunity to be on that kind of a stage. It is very, very exciting.”

That stage will be a nationally televised one on ABC with ESPN’s College Game Day also in Tallahassee, Fla. Clemson fans’ favorite announcer, Brent Musberger, will be calling the game with Kirk Herbstreit doing the color and Heather Cox on the sidelines.

Some of Herbstreit’s closest friends are Clemson alumni, while Clemson Sports Information Director Tim Bourret included in his weekly game notes that the Tigers are 4-0 when Cox is on the sideline at a Clemson game.

But the one thing going against Clemson in this matchup before it even kicks off – it’s not playing in Death Valley.

“The biggest thing for us offensively, is handing the environment,” Swinney said. “Obviously, it is going to be a big crowd and it will be a great venue to play a college football game, but half the stadium is not for you like it was in Atlanta.

“The whole stadium is against you. We might have a small pocket (of fans) there and hopefully, we will bring them to their feet a few times, but handling that environment will be a big part of it.”

Parts that the Tigers hope will lead them on a new trend – winning big games on the road.

“If you want to be a championship team, you have to win games like this on the road,” Clemson center Dalton Freeman said.