Clemson-FSU face off as unranked
CLEMSON, S.C.
Clemson coach Dabo Swinney sees normally friendly faces avoiding his gaze around town. He also is getting plenty of “praying for you” texts and random letters in his mailbox, some from people he has never met.
That’s what happens when a national football championship contender is struggling to stay above .500.
It’s “like I’ve got the plague,” Swinney said of Clemson’s 4-3 mark.
The six-time defending Atlantic Coast Conference champions have already lost two league games and will need significant help — plus improved play — if the Tigers hope to keep that streak going.
It’s a very different experience for fans of the program. Though Swinney said he’s not worried.
“It’s like you got a stink on you and nobody wants to be around you,” he said this week. “We are going to be fine, I promise you.”
Swinney hopes Clemson (3-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) shows that Saturday against a revived Florida State (3-4, 2-2). The Seminoles went through an 0-4 September where coach Mike Norvell’s short tenure was already being debated by fans.
But Florida State enters with three straight victories and a growing confidence that things are turning the corner.
“We’re still our own work in progress,” Norvell said. “We’ve seen some positives. We’ve seen some confidence that is being built.”
The teams have been heading in varying directions the past month. Clemson the runaway favorite this summer to once more win the ACC title and advance to the College Football Playoff — both for the seventh straight time.
Florida State had a disastrous opening month, including an unlikely, last-minute home loss to FCS opponent Jacksonville State. The calls for Norvell’s job were loud with many Seminoles pleading to hire College and NFL Hall of Famer and Jackson State coach Deion Sanders, a former FSU star.
But Norvell’s quelled much of the fire with this three-game win streak, its first in four years.
“This is a good football team across the board that is way better than their record, that’s for sure,” Swinney said.
Some other things to watch when Florida State plays Clemson:
Clemson will honor Florida State’s two-time national championship coach Bobby Bowden, who died earlier this year. The Tigers will also honor Bowden’s son, Tommy, who coached Clemson from 1999 until midseason 2008 when Swinney took over as interim. Swinney was hired by Tommy Bowden as the Tigers receivers coach.
It’s hard to imagine a Florida State-Clemson matchup where both teams are unranked. That’s happened only twice in the past 30 meetings, in 2009 and 2010. The teams have also combined to win 23 of the past 30 ACC titles, starting with Clemson’s championship in 1991. Florida State last won the ACC crown in 2014 while the Tigers have won the past six titles.