Florida State head coach Mike Norvell met with the media on Monday ahead of Saturday’s game vs. Clemson at Memorial Stadium.

“We’ve got a big road contest this week in a place, obviously a big game for this program,” Norvell said. “It’s one that anytime that these two programs go against each other, it’s going to be fast. It’s going to be violent, it’s going to be very competitive.”

The Tigers (3-5, 2-4 ACC) are a 2.5-point favorite over the Seminoles (4-4, 1-4 ACC), according to FanDuel Sportsbook.

The contest is set to kick off at 7 p.m. and will be televised on ACC Network.

“It’s going to be a very hostile atmosphere for us, and one that we’ve got to be able to manage all things that we can control and go out there and play Florida State football,” Norvell said.

“This is a talented team that we’re playing. I know they’ve had some tough outcomes, some close games. You turn on the film and you see a team that’s absolutely capable, and one that we just have to continue to play better on our end.”

Norvell was asked what specifically he has seen on film from this year’s Clemson team, which is coming off a 46-45 home loss to Duke last Saturday.

“It’s a talented team,” Norvell said. “I mean, there’s no question about it. It’s a team that returned I think 80% of production from a year ago. I mean, ACC champion last year, and so this is a team that has all capabilities.

“You’ve seen times offensively this last game, I mean, played at a very high level. You could really see them kind of coming into their own offensively, playing with a lot of confidence defensively. Kind of uncharacteristic in a few of these matchups where they’ve given up some big plays. Really you’ve had to work through different dynamics.”

Norvell added that he has a lot of respect for Clemson’s coaching staff.

“I mean, you see it in the schemes. You see it in the abilities of the players,” he said. “I also know that college football is hard right now. It doesn’t matter if you’ve got a roster full of guys that have been there, return, or a group of newcomers. It’s hard across the country in the consistency.

“Whenever bad things happen or disappointing things happen, you’re working through it all. But I know Coach Swinney, you look throughout the course of his career and what he’s done there, he’s going to have them ready to play come Saturday night. We’re going to get their absolute best shot, and they’re going to get ours.”

The Seminoles will try to avenge last season’s 29-13 loss to the Tigers in Tallahassee.

Clemson has won eight of its last nine meetings with Florida State, including a 4-1 mark at Death Valley.  FSU won the most recent meeting at Clemson – 31-24 in overtime on Sept. 23, 2023 – and went on to win the ACC title that year before the Tigers captured the conference crown in 2024.

“You have two programs, it’s the last two ACC champions are in this game,” Norvell said. “Ultimately we gotta go play at a high level. This is going to be a lot of energy, a lot of excitement for the opportunity to compete, and it’s going to be a lot of talented individuals on that field.”