No. 2 Clemson seeks fourth straight over Florida St.
Clemson's Travis Etienne (9) is averaging 8.2 yards per carry this season.
Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said he's not fooled in the least by Florida State's 4-3 record.
"Their record is not the same old Florida State right now," Swinney said. "But their talent is."
The way Swinney sees it, he's 1-9 against the Seminoles in recruiting.
"In my 10 years as a head coach I'm 1-9 against them in the recruiting rankings," Swinney said. "They've got a bunch of good cats."
Swinney's "cats" aren't bad, either.
Clemson, which is 5-5 against Florida State under Swinney, has won each of its last three games against the Seminoles, effectively supplanting Florida State as ACC kingpin.
Bidding to make it four ACC titles in a row, No. 2 Clemson is off to a 7-0 start and is well positioned for a fourth consecutive berth in the College Football Playoff as well, but the Tigers will take nothing for granted against a program with three national titles on its resume.
"It has been a game that has decided the (Atlantic) Division every year I've been here," senior wide receiver Hunter Renfrow said.
And several before that. Clemson or Florida State has won the division title every year since 2009.
Clemson has a chance Saturday to become the first ACC team to defeat the Seminoles four consecutive years, which would be rather meaningful for a group of seniors intent on leaving a legacy.
"This is a very prideful group," Swinney said. "There are a lot of things they would love to do as a group, including doing something no other ACC team has done."
First-year Florida State coach Willie Taggart knows it will take his team's best effort to date to avoid falling victim to the Tigers for a fourth straight time.
"You hear everyone talk about Alabama -- Clemson is right up there," Taggart said. "They have been to the playoffs the last three years. So a great football team comes to Doak Campbell."
Florida State got off to an uncharacteristic start this season, including decisive defeats at the hands of Virginia Tech and Syracuse to open conference play. But the Seminoles appear to have righted the ship, winning three of their last four, with the lone defeat a one-point loss at then-No. 17 Miami.
Florida State also is coming off its most complete effort of the season in a 38-17 victory against Wake Forest.
Quarterback Deondre Francois passed for 353 yards and two touchdowns and running back Cam Akers rushed for 101 yards and two scores. The Seminoles' defense had nine tackles for loss, including six sacks.
"They're really starting to hit their stride," Swinney said. "This is a dangerous football team that is figuring out their identity and buying into what Willie is trying to get them to do.
"But we're excited about it. It's always a great place to go play a ballgame."
Taggart acknowledges that his team will have its hands full in Clemson, which is the only team in the nation to rank among the Top 10 in the country in total offense (ninth) and total defense (fourth).
Freshman quarterback Trevor Lawrence has made great strides in just three career starts and is coming off a 308-yard passing day in the Tigers' 41-7 rout of No. 22 North Carolina State last week.
Sophomore running back Travis Etienne leads a potent Clemson running game, averaging 8.2 yards per carry while leading the nation in rushing touchdowns with 14. The matchup between the players in the trenches will likely reveal the winner.
"Our guys are just as talented as their guys are," Taggart said. "So it helps. We knew going in that was going to be a strength for us -- our d-line. So our offense gets some good competition against those guys, so they will be prepared."
Said Swinney: "For us it's the same old thing -- another game for us within our division -- and we want to stay in control of our division and not put ourselves at the mercy of something else happening."
Recent Stories
No. 16 Marquette kicks off Big East schedule vs. St. John's
After an impressive showing during a formidable non-conference slate, No. 16 Marquette kicks off the Big East portion of its schedule Tuesday night when it takes ...
Virginia Tech begins ACC season against Notre Dame
No more preliminaries or cupcakes. No more feeling-out processes.
The basketball teams in the Atlantic Coast Conference will know knock antlers for the next two ...
No. 9 Florida State ready for final non-conference game before ACC play
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- After another long layoff, the Florida State men's basketball team finds itself ready to the page on 2018 on Tuesday with a New Year's Day showdown ...
No. 7 Gonzaga on roll as it faces Cal State Bakersfield
A softening schedule and being home for the holidays have Gonzaga humming.
The No. 7 Zags have raced to leads of 31-2 and 29-1 in their past two games, blowouts ...
No. 4 Virginia wraps up non-conference slate against Marshall
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA. -- Playing just their third game over the past couple of weeks during the holiday season, No. 4 Virginia closes out their non-conference schedule ...
Latest Player Notes
How a Wisconsin legend got his German protégé into Badgers pro day
Mar 15, 2024
Marlon Werthmann put his life on hold for the opportunity in front of him Friday at the McClain Center.Werthmann ...
Why former Wisconsin football running back Braelon Allen didn't run the 40 at pro day
Mar 15, 2024
Braelon Allen’s sweat covered his shirt and dripped off his beard as he approached a group of reporters Friday.The ...
How can UW recruit its best class ever? It starts with these five prospects
By Andy Yamashita
Seattle Times staff reporter
Jedd Fisch has lofty recruiting goals at Washington. He didn’t waste any ...
Texas football kicks off spring practice Tuesday. We answer 24 questions for the 2024 team
Things certainly look fresh for the 2024 college football season, especially on the Texas campus.There’s a new conference ...
College Football Playoff: Conferences solve their differences (for now) and agree on general framework for 2026 and beyond
The FBS conferences and Notre Dame agreed on Friday to continue the College Football Playoff beyond the 2025 season, signing ...
Ball security, leadership key as Aztecs look to identify starting quarterback
San Diego State seemingly auditions a new starting quarterback on an annual basis.In the past 12 years, the Aztecs have opened ...
Results and more: A look at what happened at Penn State football’s Pro Day inside Holuba Hall
Most of those at Penn State’s Pro Day Friday were relatively quiet throughout the afternoon’s workouts, but there was one ...
Defense dominates first two weeks of Oregon State spring practice as Beavers ready for 2-week breather
CORVALLIS – Oregon State hit the break of spring practices Saturday, not exactly the midpoint but a good place to assess ...
Dillon Gabriel to have similar input, autonomy as Bo Nix had in Oregon’s offense
Published Mar. 16, 2024, 6:26 p.m.By James CrepeaEUGENE — Dillon Gabriel will have much of the same autonomy as Bo Nix did ...
Two transfers, one underclassman who impressed in Missouri football's spring game
With that, spring camp’s a wrap.Missouri football held its Black & Gold spring game Saturday in front of a healthy crowd ...