CLEMSON FOOTBALL

Clemson vs. Florida State Prediction: Will a QB change make a difference?
Clemson takes on FSU on Saturday at 7 p.m. (ESPN).

Clemson vs. Florida State Prediction: Will a QB change make a difference?


by - Senior Writer -

A Clemson vs. Florida State matchup in Doak Campbell Stadium usually means a sold-out crowd, a raucous atmosphere and some type of title implication. Not this season. However, Clemson still has everything on the table and simply needs to march down to Tallahassee and take care of business.

NO. 15/14 CLEMSON (3-1, 2-0 ACC) at FLORIDA STATE (1-4, 1-3 ACC)

WHEN: SATURDAY, OCT. 5, 7 P.M. ET
WHERE: DOAK CAMPBELL STADIUM (55,000), TALLAHASSEE, FLA.
TELEVISION: ESPN (Mark Jones, Roddy Jones, Quint Kessenich)
RADIO: Clemson Athletic Network (Don Munson, Tim Bourret, Reggie Merriweather)
SATELLITE RADIO: SiriusXM 158 or 194

CLEMSON/FLORIDA STATE SERIES HISTORY:

- OVERALL: Clemson trails series, 15-21
- HOME: Series is tied, 9-9
- ROAD: Clemson trails series, 6-12
- NEUTRAL: N/A
- LAST MEETING: Sept. 23, 2023 (31-24, L)
- STREAK: Florida State, Won 1

NOTABLE

*On Saturday, Clemson Head Coach Dabo Swinney will attempt to make conference history and pass a college football icon on a playing surface bearing that icon's name. With 173 career wins, Swinney enters the game tied with College Football Hall of Famer Bobby Bowden for the conference record for career head coaching victories leading an ACC program. Of Bowden's 377 NCAA-recognized career head coaching victories, 173 of his wins came during Florida State's membership in the ACC. A win on Saturday on Bobby Bowden Field at Doak Campbell Stadium would push Swinney past Bowden into sole possession of the ACC record.

*Swinney (173) is also attempting to earn his 174th career win to pass the career win totals of College Football Hall of Famers Robert Neyland (173-31-12) and Frank Solich (173-101).

*Clemson (801-473-45) is attempting to earn its 802nd victory all-time and potentially pass Auburn (801) for the 13th-most in FBS history. (Note: Auburn can move to 802 with a win against Georgia at 3:30 p.m. ET Saturday).

*Clemson is attempting to win a fourth consecutive game at Doak Campbell Stadium for the first time in series history, and is attempting to become only the fourth program ever to win four consecutive road games against Florida State in Tallahassee, joining Florida (six straight from 1966-76), Houston (four from 1966-78) and Miami (Fla.) (five from 1957-77 and four from 1981-87).

*Saturday’s game will be Clemson’s 2024 road opener. The Tigers opened the season in Atlanta in a neutral site contest against Georgia. Clemson then returned for a three-game homestand that also included the first of Clemson’s two open dates in 2024. Saturday’s game, being played on Oct. 5, represents Clemson’s latest road opener since Oct. 9, 2008, when Clemson’s 12-7 loss at Wake Forest in its road opener led to Clemson elevating Dabo Swinney to interim head coach the following week. Saturday’s game will tie for Clemson’s fourth-latest road opener since joining the ACC in 1953.

ABOUT FLORIDA ST.

The Seminoles are a program in disarray. Head coach Mike Norvell went all in on the transfer portal, and when the program was left out of last season’s College Football Playoff, a sizable portion of the roster quit. Instead of using high school recruiting to replace those players, he went back in on the portal, including adding quarterback DJ Uiagalelei. Uiagalelei is reportedly injured and won’t play Saturday against the Tigers, meaning backup Brock Glenn will be the one under center.

Glenn replaced Uiagalelei in the fourth quarter of last week's loss to SMU, his first appearance since the Orange Bowl vs. Georgia. He started twice last season, including the Georgia game and the ACC title matchup with Lousiville, and he appeared in five games.

In his five games, Glenn went 19-for-51 for 229 yards, throwing two interceptions, while adding a rushing touchdown. He didn't complete a pass in four attempts vs. SMU.

You look at the stats and realize that Jordan Travis, the starting quarterback last season, covered up a lot of warts on that offense. This year, with Uiagalelei at the helm, the Seminoles are statistically one of the worst offenses in the country, averaging 15.6 points per game, 126th out of 133 FBS teams. The passing offense ranks 86th with 213 yards per game and the rushing offense ranks 130th with 65.2 yards per game this season.

A bright spot is running back Lawrance Toafili, who has posted 147 rushing yards and a touchdown in his last two games.

The defense ranks 92nd overall, 96th in rushing defense, and 74th in pass defense.

ABOUT CLEMSON

The Tigers have won three in a row, and junior quarterback Cade Klubnik is 73-of-110 on passes, throwing for 12 touchdowns, two interceptions and 984 yards this season, adding 131 rushing yards on 17 carries, scoring four touchdowns.

Klubnik finally has weapons. Freshman wide receiver Bryant Wesco Jr. has emerged as the deep threat and has recorded 238 receiving yards on seven catches, scoring twice. Running back Phil Mafah has posted 346 rushing yards, scoring twice and is averaging 85.5 yards per game.

Clemson has struggled at times defensively, though most of the yards and points have come with the starters on the bench. Still, teams have had success running and passing to the perimeter, and a few defensive ends struggled (mightily) last week with contain on Stanford’s ad hoc option attack. The Tigers are vulnerable on the edge, and are even more vulnerable with defensive end Peter Woods on the shelf. He is likely to be a gametime decision – part of Dabo Swinney’s day-to-day crew – and if he can’t go, it will on Cade Denhoff and A.J. Hoffler to play better.

Clemson is 101st nationally in total defense, 50th in tackles for loss, and 80th in sacks. It doesn’t matter who is in the game; those numbers are not good—not at Clemson.

WHAT WILL HAPPEN

Perhaps the addition of Glenn will give the Seminoles a spark. If I were Mike Norvell, I would run Toafili to the outside until Clemson proves it can stop it. But in the end, this isn’t a talented receiving group, the offensive line is a mess, and Glenn likely isn’t going to be the savior. He just might make a better decision or two than Uiagalelei.

Clemson should win on both lines of scrimmage, and while the Seminoles are talented enough defensively to keep this close for a while, it likely won’t last long term.

FINAL SCORE: Clemson 41, FSU 13

TigerNet picks

David Hood - TigerNet senior writer - 41-13 Clemson
Mickey Plyler - The Roar 105.5 morning show host - 42-10 Clemson
Nikki Hood - Staff writer - 42-17 Clemson
Brandon Rink - Associate editor - 38-16 Clemson
Tony Crumpton - Associate editor - 35-14 Clemson
Ryan Kantor - Contributing Writer - 40-14 Clemson
Ariana Pensy - Intern - 55-7 Clemson
Merrell Mann - Photographer - 44-20 Clemson
Brooks Thomason - Intern - 31-16 Clemson
Grayson Mann - Staff writer - 45-14 Clemson

Game Actual David Hood Plyler Nikki Hood Rink Crumpton Kantor Pensy M. Mann Thomason G. Mann
Georgia 34-3 UGA 27-24 CU 23-21 CU 24-17 CU 29-20 UGA 27-20 UGA 28-21 UGA 24-17 UGA 17-14 CU 27-21 UGA 27-23 UGA
App State 66-20 CU 34-14 CU 30-16 CU CU 38-17 CU 34-17 CU 31-17 CU 35-10 CU 30-10 CU 31-10 CU 31-13 CU 28-10 CU
NC State 59-35 CU 34-13 CU 38-16 CU 42-20 CU 30-13 CU 28-10 CU 35-14 CU 34-17 CU 38-17 CU 31-10 CU 31-10 CU
Stanford 40-14 CU 44-20 CU 48-17 CU 38-10 CU 44-16 CU 42-14 CU 41-17 CU 45-17 CU 48-21 CU 40-20 CU 41-17 CU
Points - 3 3 8 7 7 4 4 3 4 4

* Points: 3 pts for best correct prediction of the week (tiebreaker is Clemson score), 2 pts for picking score exactly, 1 pt for picking the correct winner

Ultimate Level LogoUpgrade Your Account

Unlock premium boards and exclusive features (e.g. ad-free) by upgrading your account today.

Upgrade Now
Comment on this story
Print   
Send Feedback to David Hood: Email | Comment
2025 Clemson baseball schedule announced
2025 Clemson baseball schedule announced
Playoff committee releases updated Clemson ranking
Playoff committee releases updated Clemson ranking
Cade Klubnik named semifinalist for top QB honor
Cade Klubnik named semifinalist for top QB honor
Post your comments!