By William Qualkinbush.

A year after winning the national title and housing the Heisman Trophy winner, the Florida State football program is back for more. Clemson will be seeking revenge in the wake of last year’s bludgeoning at the hands of the Seminoles. The Tigers’ chance will come quickly, as the 2014 season might be largely defined after a mid-September trip to Tallahassee.

To say the Seminoles have hefty expectations this season would be understating the weight of said expectations. Only the best of the best repeat as champions, yet that is the only way the year will be considered a success for Jimbo Fisher’s squad. In fact, the new college football playoff may not be more inconvenient to any program more than Florida State.

The inconvenience comes courtesy of a schedule that would almost certainly make FSU the odds-on favorite to return to the national title game. The toughest games on the slate occur in Tallahassee, including the September 20 showdown with Clemson. The Tigers may represent the most talented team the Seminoles will face, so having the game early in the season means a greater chance the top players in the game will be available.

Among them, of course, is Jameis Winston. The Noles’ quarterback extraordinaire appears to be motivated after a tumultuous offseason where he spent more time fending off criminal charges than fending off opposing tacklers. He will have a largely new cast of characters surrounding him in 2014 after multiple NFL defections followed the thrilling title game victory.

Reliable receiver Rashad Greene and underutilized matchup nightmare Nick O’Leary return to catch his passes. The combination would be enough to prove problematic for opposing secondaries by itself, but a host of youngsters is waiting in the wings to join the duo. Former blue chip defensive back Karlos Williams appears poised to be the starter, but there is a ton of backfield talent available—including freshmen and former Clemson commit Dalvin Cook.

Perhaps the most important aspect of this season’s offensive football team is the presence of five senior linemen—all of whom have starting experience—in the lineup. Much like last year, Winston should enjoy small eternities of comfort in the pocket to sit back and read defenses.

Defensively, there has been some change, most notably at coordinator. A year after waving a magic wand and turning the Florida State defense into a force, Jeremy Pruitt is now at Georgia. His replacement, Charles Kelly, will have to replace five of the Seminoles’ six leading tacklers from last season.

But a slew of five-star talent returns up front—including athletic freaks Mario Edwards Jr. and Eddie Goldman—to wreak havoc on opposing backfields. The leading returning tackler is linebacker Terrance Smith, the son of former Clemson receiver Terry Smith and a cousin of Nuk Hopkins. Despite the loss of Lamarcus Joyner from the secondary, the Noles should be stout in the back once again due to the presence of all three other starters from last season, including lockdown corners P.J. Williams and Ronald Darby.

As if this were not enough proof Florida State is here to stay, both specialists return from one of America’s best kicking teams a year ago. Only one player in the nation made a higher percentage of his field goals last season than rising sophomore Robert Aguayo (21-22). Meanwhile, while he only averaged three punts per game, Cason Beatty averaged more than 41 yards per kick. Both should be considerable weapons again.

Clearly, Clemson will have its hands full with this Florida State team on September 20. Should the Seminoles get past this date undefeated, the seas should part until the college football playoff. For this reason, Clemson’s first conference foe in 2014 is arguably the safest bet in America.