By Will Vandervort.
Here is an inside look at the Clemson-Florida State series as the 22nd-ranked Clemson Tigers visit the top-ranked Florida State Seminoles on Saturday in the home opener at Death Valley. The game will be televised by ABC at 8 p.m.
About the Florida State Seminoles: The Seminoles are ranked No. 1 in the country and are the defending national champions. They have won 18 straight games overall, which is an ACC record. They have also won 15 straight games against ACC competition.
The FSU offense: Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Jameis Winston will sit the first two quarters due to a suspension. That means Sean Maguire will be making his first career start. The sophomore has played in 10 games—all mop up duty—and has thrown just 26 passes. He does however have the ACC’s leading receiver as a target in Rashad Greene. The senior leads the ACC with 15 catches for 283 yards and touchdown in just two games thus far.
The FSU defense: The Seminoles have struggled somewhat through two games, yielding 343 total yards a game after leading the ACC in total and scoring defense last year. Ronald Darby is arguably the best lockdown cornerback in the ACC and the nation. As a sophomore in 2013, Darby allowed just nine completions and zero touchdowns on only 27 targets – according to Stats, LLC.
Records: Clemson 1-1; Florida State 2-0
Series record: Florida State leads the series, 19-8
Last year: Florida State won, 51-14
First meeting: 1970, Florida State won 38-13
Last Clemson win: 2011, 35-30
Stat worth noting: Clemson is 3-11 all-time at FSU. Clemson has won just one of the last 11 meetings in Tallahassee, a 27-20 victory in 2006. The Tigers have been outscored 425-167 in those 11 games.
Second stat worth noting: Clemson is 0-4 all-time vs. The Associated Press No. 1 team. That includes a 0-3 mark against the Seminoles when they were ranked No. 1 coming into the game.
Third stat worth noting: A different Seminole quarterback has set a career-high in total yards against the Tigers in each of the last three meetings. In 2011, Clint Trickett had 329 total yards (336 passing, -7 rushing), at Death Valley. In 2012, EJ Manuel had 482 yards (380 passing, 102 rushing), and last season, Jameis Winston had 446 total yards (444 passing, 2 rushing).
Memorable game: James Davis scored on a one-yard run with just eight seconds left to lead Clemson to a 27-20 victory at Florida State in 2006. It’s still the Tigers’ only win over the Seminoles in Tallahassee since FSU joined the ACC in 1992. Florida State was ranked ninth in the nation entering the contest and the Tigers were unranked after losing the previous week to Boston College in overtime. Clemson held Florida State to 204 yards of total offense, and it was just the third home ACC loss for Florida State in 57 home ACC games at the time. The late Gaines Adams had seven tackles, including 2.5 sacks to lead the Tigers’ defense.