The Clemson Tigers will head to Tallahassee this Saturday to renew their annual rivalry with the Florida State Seminoles in what will be the first true road game for Dabo Swinney’s team in 2024.
The Tigers (3-1) are ranked No. 14 in this week’s US LBM Coaches Poll after winning their last three games, including last Saturday’s 40-14 victory over the Stanford Cardinal in Death Valley.
Florida State (1-4) is unranked amid one of the worst starts in Seminoles history. They began the year 0-3 before holding off ACC newcomer California. Against another ACC newbie last week (the SMU Mustangs), the ‘Noles were routed 42-16 in Dallas.
In their weekly college football predictions released Thursday, the six-member panel of Dan Wolken, Paul Myerberg, Eddie Timanus, Scooby Axson, Jordan Mendoza and Erick Smith all predicted the Tigers to win Saturday’s game against Florida State.
Clemson coach Dabo Swinney was asked this week if he was surprised by the Seminoles’ 1-4 start. Swinney said Florida State had been competitive in most every game and that their competition deserved credit for fielding good teams, as well.
“Football’s hard. It’s a hard game, it really is,” Swinney offered. “A few plays here and there can affect the psyche of a team, the confidence of a team. A couple of plays go your way and next thing you know, it’s just different.”
“You look at a couple of these games and they’re right there,” Swinney continued. “So, you just have to keep playing. If you do this long enough, you’re going to have a year along the way where… crazy things can happen. You’ve just got to play the next game and keep going. I think everybody is surprised by what their record is, but you’ve also got to give the other teams some credit.”
Kickoff for Saturday’s game between Clemson and Florida State is set for 7 p.m. ET. The game can be seen on ESPN.
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