What does FSU’s loss mean for Clemson?

We are not even into Week 1 of the college football season and already a ton of preseason projections are down the toilet, especially for the 81 media members who picked Florida State to win the Atlantic Coast Conference this year.

For the record, I was not one of those 81 votes.

The Seminoles ruined those 81 first place votes thanks to Saturday’s 24-21 last second loss to Georgia Tech in Ireland. Aidan Birr made a 44-yard field goal as time expired to lead the Yellow Jackets to a top 10 upset of the Seminoles.

Georgia Tech ran for 190 yards, while holding FSU to 291 total yards in DJ Uiagalelei’s debut as the Seminoles’ quarterback. He completed 19 of 27 passes for 193 yards in a losing effort.

What does Florida State’s loss mean for Clemson?

At the moment, nothing. However, down the road it can mean a lot.

Granted, the Seminoles are not out of the ACC Championship race with one loss, but it is going to be hard for them to be perfect for the next 11 games of the regular season.

Florida State hosts a very hungry Boston College team on Labor Day Night in Week 1, plus it has to go to SMU on Sept. 28. That game is already a sellout and is being dubbed the biggest game at SMU in 40 years.

The very next week, the ‘Noles host Clemson on Oct. 5, then have to go to Miami on Oct. 26. The odds are, Florida State will likely be out of the ACC race by the end of October. They could be out of the race as early as next week.

If BC and SMU can’t knock them out by the end of September, Clemson will get its chance when the Tigers go to Tallahassee.

And stay in the hypothetical world. If the Tigers lose to the Seminoles, FSU isn’t going to run the table and will likely have one or two more conference losses and will not be a factor in the conference race.

In the end, it means the Tigers might be afforded a mulligan in Tallahassee, as long as it can take care of business in the other seven conference games. We might have a good idea by this time next week if that will indeed be the case.

Remember, there are no divisions. The two teams with the best ACC records earn a spot in the ACC Championship Game. Whomever wins the ACC gets an automatic berth into the College Football Playoff.

Obviously, we have a long way to go in the football season and a lot will happen between now and December. As for now, however, I think it is safe to say, Clemson fans were extremely happy with Saturday’s result.