National Analyst on if He’s Buying FSU Hype, or if Clemson Still Runs ACC
By: Staff Report August 18, 2023

Is this national analyst buying the big hype that surrounds Florida State heading into the 2023 season?

Joel Klatt, FOX Sports’ lead college football analyst, recently weighed in on that topic.

Clemson has won seven of the last eight ACC titles, and Klatt acknowledged that Clemson still “runs the conference” despite all of the FSU buzz entering this fall.

“Am I buying the Florida State hype? That’s the question, because there’s a lot of hype out there about Florida State,” Klatt said. “And listen, I get it, and they’re likely going to win a lot of games this season. They’ve got a talented roster, they did really well in the transfer portal, they’ve recruited well and in an ACC that isn’t particularly strong top to bottom, are they ready? Yeah, they’re ready.

“The problem is that you’ve got to be ready to beat Clemson. Because Clemson runs the conference. Have they done enough to overtake Clemson? I’m not sure. They didn’t last year when they had them at home. Why should we be so quick to just say like, ‘Hey, Florida State, I love Florida State.’”

While Klatt likes Florida State and has the Seminoles at No. 10 in his preseason top 25 rankings, he doesn’t think the Noles are on the same level as Clemson (No. 9 in his preseason top 25) and LSU (No. 7 in his preseason top 25). FSU will play both Clemson and LSU in the first month of the season.

“I can like them (FSU). They’re in my top 10,” Klatt said. “But I can accurately say they aren’t to the level of even two of their first four opponents, one of them being a conference opponent in Clemson, that game at Clemson. Last year, Clemson had what they consider to be a bad year. They still won 11 games, including going 9-0 in the ACC. 9-0. They beat Florida State on the road in Tallahassee, won the ACC, and Florida State had a great year, won 10 games and still lost three in the conference when the season was still in suspense, if you will.”

Klatt isn’t impressed with the mediocre competition that FSU beat during its six-game winning streak to end last season, including the 35-32 Cheez-It Bowl win over an Oklahoma team that finished the year with a 6-7 record. It marked Oklahoma’s first losing season since 1998, John Blake’s final season as the head coach.

“By the way, that Oklahoma game, that was a one-score game late, a one-score win over Oklahoma,” Klatt said. “Oklahoma hasn’t been sub-.500 since John Blake, and you want me to anoint Florida State because they beat the worst Oklahoma team since John Blake? I can’t do that. Not with Clemson still there. Not with Clemson returning their quarterback in Cade Klubnik. Not with Clemson getting better on defense. Not with Will Shipley still being there. Not with the game being in Clemson, in particular in the first month of the season, and not with Garrett Riley being the offensive coordinator at Clemson. This is the biggest move that nobody is talking about in college football. … When they’ve got a run game and a guy like Kendre Miller like he had at TCU and now he’s going to have Will Shipley, he can be dynamic in the run game and the screen game. They’re going to be able to throw the ball. Klubnik is a really good player – a really good player. Probably should’ve been playing the majority of the time last year.

“This is why Clemson is going to run the ACC. This is why I have them rated ahead of Florida State, and this is why it’s not time for the Seminoles yet.”

Klatt is confident that FSU will start this season 2-2 with a loss to LSU in the season opener on Sept. 3 and a loss at Clemson on Sept. 23.

“I think the Seminoles are going to be a really good team. I’ve got them in the top 10, so is not about me ‘hating on Florida State,’” Klatt said. “This is me accurately looking at the LSU matchup, which does not favor Florida State, and the Clemson matchup, which does not favor Florida State, and I can accurately say Florida State is going to be 2-2 in their first four games. Now they may go on to win 10 games, but it’s not going to be a team that really competes for an ACC title. …

“Clemson’s roster is still better than that roster at Florida State, in particular when you look at the blue-chip ratio. Clemson’s still got the nod.”

Clemson has won seven straight games in its series with Florida State, dating to 2015. Despite that, the Noles are ranked ahead of the Tigers in both the preseason AP Top 25 Poll and Coaches Poll, with FSU ranked No. 8 in each and Clemson No. 9 in each.

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