TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Halloween night in Tallahassee will see Clemson and Florida State face off with basically nothing more than pride at stake.

For so many years, this game generally helped dictate who was playing for an ACC Championship in December. Not this year.

The calendar has yet to flip to November, and for all intents and purposes, both of these teams have already been eliminated from the discussion when it comes to locking up a spot in Charlotte.

Game Primer

• Overall: Clemson trails series, 17-21
• Home: Clemson leads series, 10-9
• Road: Clemson trails series, 7-12
• Last Meeting: Nov. 8, 2025 (24-10, W)
• Point Spread: Clemson +5.5
• Point Total: 49.5
• TV: ACCN 7 p.m.
• Recent History: Clemson has won two straight and nine out of 10, including four straight in Tallahassee

With the way this season is playing out, if the Tigers (4-3, 2-2 ACC) have any shot at coming away with a victory, they are going to have to lean heavily on Tom Allen’s defense. If you take out the LSU game when Clemson allowed 51 points, the Tigers are holding opponents to 16.3 points per contest.

A lot has gotten cleaned up since that blowout loss to kick off the season, and overall, the defense has played well. All three levels. Darien Mayo has looked solid since moving inside, Will Heldt is having a strong senior campaign and Jeremiah Alexander has really started to settle in at MIKE. Plus, the backend, led by Ashton Hampton, is just as strong as it’s been all season.

With Florida State (3-4, 1-3) missing its top two running backs in Ousmane Kromah and Samuel Singleton Jr., that running back room is paper thin. Quarterback Ashton Daniels will likely be more involved than he already has been, and he is second on the team with 459 rushing yards (not counting sacks). That is the guy who can’t be allowed to gash you on the ground. That means playing fundamentally sound, assignment football.

The matchup to really watch here is the bad FSU defense against Clemson’s inept offense. The Tigers’ defense and special teams have combined to score more points than the offense, as the team is averaging just 21.4 points per game. That is the lowest mark since 2010, when Clemson averaged 24 points per contest. And that 2010 offense was pretty bad.

The Tigers are really struggling with the passing game. Freshman Tait Reynolds has thrown for just 1,093 yards with three interceptions and just one touchdown pass. It’s bad enough having to try and produce with a freshman quarterback experiencing some growing pains, but the offensive line hasn’t helped much, with the unit allowing three sacks and 10 pressures per game. Woof.

However, the Seminoles’ pass defense has been extremely suspect, giving up 256.3 yards per game, which ranks No. 124 nationally. Clemson did have some success throwing it against Miami, so maybe they can have some here.

Just having success in the passing game won’t be enough. The Tigers will need to cash in on scoring opportunities rather than having to rely on kicker Nolan Hauser. Clemson has made 23 trips inside the red zone this season and has punched it into the end zone just nine times in those situations. The lack of success inside the opposing team’s 20-yard line is a big reason why this offense has been so ineffective.

Will the Tigers see their luck change in Tallahassee? Probably not. When a team shows you who they are, it’s generally wise to believe them, and seven games in, we have a pretty good idea of what this Clemson team is.

If the Tigers can manage to keep this a close, low-scoring affair, I like their chances. Since 2024, Mike Norvell’s teams are just 1-9 in games decided by less than one score.

Unfortunately, while it’s likely a low-scoring affair, Clemson won’t keep it quite that close, and Daniels legs will be the difference.

Only one team will be celebrating by going trick-or-treating on Saturday night, and I believe that will be the Noles.

Florida State 27, Clemson 17