Clemson Heads to Florida State Looking to Go from Good to Great

Since the disappointing loss to Georgia in the season-opener, Clemson has rebounded with three decisive wins.

All three of those blowout wins, over App State, NC State and Stanford, have come at home. This week the Tigers will take the show on the road to Florida State, their first game away from home since that opener in Atlanta and the first true road contest of the year.

Dabo Swinney has been pleased with his team’s progress over the three-game winning streak but during his weekly press conference on Tuesday, the head coach said he now wants to see that success travel to Tallahassee on Saturday.

“I tell them all the time, good teams win at home, great teams win on the road,” Swinney said. “You’ve got to be able to travel your plan to win and execute when they’re not all cheering for you. you know. We certainly will have that opportunity this week.”

On paper, this appears to be a matchup of two teams headed in opposite directions. Florida State, a preseason Top 10 team, comes in at just 1-4, including a home loss to G5 Memphis. The Seminoles are just 1-3 in ACC play.

Last weekend, SMU went into Doak Campbell Stadium and came away with a 42-16 win that saw starting quarterback DJ Uiagalelei benched after throwing a pick six, his third interception of the game. It was later revealed that Uiagalelei broke one of the fingers on his throwing hand during the play and is expected to miss multiple weeks. Brock Glenn is expected to get the start.

The Seminoles traveled into Death Valley a season ago and knocked off the Tigers 31-24, giving Florida State its first win in the series since 2014. Clemson has won three straight in Tallahassee, though, and if they are going to make it four straight, Swinney knows they will have to do in front of an electric crowd.

“Florida State is always a really tough place to play,” Swinney added. “Fans do a great job. There’s always a ton of energy down there.”

Despite the Seminoles’ record, there is still loads of talent all over the field. The kind of talent Swinney believes will be playing in the NFL. For that reason, the head coach knows this is a team that can’t be overlooked.

“A lot of well documented history with this matchup,” Swinney said. “It doesn’t matter what the records are. Doesn’t matter to us. There’s good players on both sides. Florida State… they got a bunch of guys that will be playing on Sundays.”

A limited number of signed replica road signs from Cade Klubnik are available!  Visit Clemson Variety & Frame or purchase online!