The only regular season match-up of teams to win BCS games a season ago will take place in Tallahassee on Saturday as Clemson visits top-ranked Florida State in the ACC opener for both teams. ESPN’s College Gameday will be in town as the Seminoles face their first ranked opponent in 2014.
Saturday’s contest will certainly have huge implications for Florida State as FSU aims for its 19th straight victory and looks to remain in line for a spot in college football’s first playoff. As far as the ACC is concerned however, the annual match-up has essentially become an ACC semifinal.
After dropping five of seven to Clemson, Florida State has won the last two against the Tigers while combining to score 100 points. Florida State beat Clemson 49-37 in the last meeting between the teams in Tallahassee in what was a top 10 match-up in 2012.
In the first contest between top 5 teams in 2013, Florida State scored more points than any opposing team ever at Death Valley in a 51-14 win over third-ranked Clemson. The victory marked the first for Florida State at Memorial Stadium since 2001 and legitimized the Seminoles as national championship contenders.
While Florida State has gotten the better of Clemson the last two seasons, the Tigers have been untouchable for the remainder of the ACC. The Seminoles have served as the Tigers’ lone blemish in conference play over that span. Clemson’s average margin of victory against the rest of the conference since 2012 has been more than 23 points.
The last two meetings between the teams have certainly been monumental from a national standpoint, but since 2009, the winner of the Florida State-Clemson game has gone on to represent the Atlantic division in the ACC Championship every year. The last time a team other than the Seminoles or Tigers took on the Coastal for the ACC title was 2008 when Boston College fell to Virginia Tech.
Though Saturday’s game at Doak Campbell Stadium may not be the top 10 match-up that each of the last two were, it will pit the only two ACC teams ranked in the AP Poll against one another.
After two early efforts that have some questioning whether or not Florida State has the potential to repeat, Saturday’s ACC opener will provide the Seminoles the opportunity to make the statement that the road to a national championship still goes through Tallahassee. If FSU is able to earn the victory against the Tigers, it may cruise to a third straight Atlantic division crown and a fourth in five years.
With North Carolina and South Carolina still on the schedule, Saturday’s tilt with top-ranked Florida State could allow Clemson to get back into the national conversation after a 45-21 loss at Georgia to open the season. Should the Tigers do the unthinkable in Tallahassee and beat the Seminoles, Florida State to get back to Charlotte, would need Clemson to lose a pair of ACC games. Again, Clemson has not fell to an ACC team other than Florida State since 2011.
As is virtually every other game for top-ranked Florida State, Saturday’s ACC opener is a must-win. In a campaign filled with enormous expectations, FSU could see its national championship and perhaps even ACC hopes dashed before the month of October if its unable to take down the Tigers. Clemson has not won in Tallahassee since 2006.
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