CLEMSON — When Clemson and Florida State square off, there are almost always conference championship implications on the line. At least for one team.
Unfortunately, that is not the case this season. When the Seminoles visit Memorial Stadium on Saturday, pride might be the biggest thing on the line. Neither one of these teams is even bowl-eligible yet, so both are still trying to keep their postseason hopes alive, as well.
The Tigers are looking to beat a Power-4 team at home for the first time in more than a year, while Florida State just notched its first win over an ACC opponent in more than 400 days last weekend when the Seminoles thumped Wake Forest 42-7.
However, FSU picked up that victory inside the friendly confines of Doak Campbell Stadium. Mike Norvell’s team is winless in games away from home this season. So the Noles are struggling on the road, and the Tigers haven’t fared well at home, with their only victory coming over Troy. Something has to give.
If Clemson is going to come away victorious, the Tigers absolutely have to minimize the busts on the backend, something that has haunted this team in each of the past two games. The Seminoles have one of the better scoring offenses in the country, averaging 34.1 points per game. That ranks 16th nationally. For comparison’s sake, Clemson averages 28.4 points per contest, which ranks just No. 61 nationally.
Containing FSU quarterback Tommy Castellanos will be of the utmost importance. The senior signal caller is extremely dangerous with his legs, and his 407 rushing yards are the second-most on the team. He can’t be allowed to escape the pocket and continuously get into the second level of the Tigers’ defense.
Tom Allen’s unit is also going to have to get some pressure on Castellanos. Make him uncomfortable. Teams that have been able to do that have pressured him into making some bad throws. When he does make a bad throw into traffic, it would help tremendously if the defenders could actually come away with the interceptions. Twice in the loss to Duke, Clemson had what looked like easy picks hit guys in the hands, only not to be caught.
The Tigers seem to be finding their groove on the offensive side of the ball. Cade Klubnik looked sharp last week in his return from injury and has actually played really well in each of his last three games. The senior is 71-of-90 for 919 yards with seven touchdowns and just one interception over that stretch. That is a completion percentage of 79%.
The offensive line had what was arguably its best game of the season last week. With Tristan Leigh also returning from an injury, freshman Brayden Jacobs moved inside to guard. The result was Klubnik having time to throw and the backs having room to run.
Florida State’s run defense has been pretty effective for the most part. The Seminoles are ranked No. 25th in the country, allowing 115.7 yards per contest, so getting Adam Randall and Gideon Davidson involved early to help open up the passing game will be key.
Pitt, Stanford and Virginia have all had success running on the Noles’ defense. The Cavaliers rushed for more than 200 yards in their win over FSU in late September. The Tigers should be able to at least establish some sort of running game.
If those things happen, the Tigers win.
Having said all of that, there is something Antonio Williams said after the loss to Duke that really struck a chord.
“We got to learn how to not lose.”
After eight games, it is abundantly clear that this team just doesn’t know how to win. With all of the negativity surrounding the defense’s performance a week ago, the offense did get the ball in the fourth quarter with a chance to go up two scores and basically put the game away. They just couldn’t finish the job. No killer instinct.
While this Florida State team also isn’t very good, we’ve seen nothing in recent weeks that gives any confidence in this Clemson team. We’ve just seen them lose in too many different ways. The misery continues.
Florida State 34, Clemson 24
Photo by Bart Boatwright