Tigers are not intimidated by FSU

Last year, former Florida State defensive back Lamarcus Joyner was upset with all the preseason attention Clemson was getting by the media at the Grandover Resort in Greensboro, N.C. as part of ACC Football Kickoff. Despite the Tigers being the overwhelming pick by the media to win the ACC, Joyner felt the Seminoles were the best team in the conference and they would go to Death Valley and prove it.

Joyner and his teammates did just that when the Seminoles rolled into Clemson last October and defeated the third-ranked Tigers, 51-14. It was Clemson’s only loss in Death Valley last season and its worst ever in the 71-year old stadium.

It was also the key victory FSU needed in its run to a national championship.

One year later, the shoe is on the other foot. Florida State, not Clemson, has the bullseye squarely on its back and the ‘Noles were the hot topic at the 2014 ACC Football Kickoff, which did not bother Clemson at all.

“They deserve it,” Clemson defensive end Vic Beasley said. “They are the defending national champions.”

But don’t get Beasley wrong, though the Tigers might respect Florida State and what they accomplished last year, it does not mean they are intimidated by the Seminoles this year. Despite FSU receiving 104 of a possible 112 votes to win the ACC Championship, Clemson feels it has just as good of a chance of winning the conference title.

“I’m thankful the media has had a bad track record,” Swinney joked.

Though the ACC media has picked 23 of last 38 ACC Champions right in the preseason, it has not fared as well as of late. They have missed twice in the previous three seasons, including in 2011 when the Tigers stunned the conference and won their first ACC title in 20 years.

“I think Florida State should be picked to win it. I don’t think that is a big shocker to anybody,” Swinney said. “But Jimbo (Fisher) will be the first to tell you that none of that matters. I told you that last year. It’s about what you do on the field. That’s why you play the games.”

The game this year will be played in Tallahassee, Fla., where the Tigers have not won since Will Proctor and company stunned the ninth-ranked Seminoles. It’s the only time a Clemson team has gone to Florida State and won a game since the ‘Noles joined the ACC in 1992.

But last year, Florida State, with a freshman quarterback, nonetheless, proved where you play the game doesn’t always matter. It’s how you play the game that counts. That was Florida State’s first win at Clemson since 2001.

“That was a big game for us last year. We went to Death Valley and got it done,” FSU quarterback Jameis Winston said.

So can Clemson, with a first-year quarterback, new skill players and a defense loaded with talent and experience—sound familiar—go into Doak Campbell Stadium and return the favor?

“It’s the same chance anyone else has. You have to go out there and perform and be the best you possibly can,” Clemson quarterback Cole Stoudt said. “That’s something every team strives for. When we go in there, we’re going to be the best that we can be this year and I’m confident, just like every other team is confident, in our chances of winning.”