Column: Saturday’s Game at Clemson is One That FSU Just Has to Have

Florida State football left much to be desired in Saturday’s nail-biting 31-29 win at Boston College, but through three games, the Seminoles’ record is just what they hoped it would be. A perfect 3-0 and ranked No. 4 in the country, FSU will now head to a place that’s been a house of horrors over the last several years.

Better known as “Death Valley,” Memorial Stadium will be the scene as FSU looks to stay perfect on Saturday. The Seminoles will visit a Clemson team that has won seven straight in the series.

Upon entering the ACC, FSU immediately became the class of the conference. The Seminoles won the ACC in each of their first nine seasons and in 12 of their first 15 as a member. Since FSU 3-peated in the conference from 2012 to 2014, it’s been the Tigers who assumed the role as its king.

Clemson has won seven of the last eight conference crowns and defeated FSU every year during the stretch with the exception of 2020 when COVID-19 precautions canceled the contest. If FSU is ever to dethrone the Tigers in the ACC, it feels like that time has to be now.

While there were some dark times for FSU in the rivalry with Clemson over the last several years, the Seminoles have been right there in each of the last two matchups. In its last trip to Death Valley two years ago, FSU held to a 20-17 lead with less than three minutes to play before Will Shipley’s late touchdown delivered Clemson in a 30-20 win.

Despite being in front of a hostile environment, FSU will enter Saturday’s contest as a slight favorite. While last week’s win in Chestnut Hill may have been lackluster, FSU made perhaps the biggest statement of the college football season with a Week 1 shellacking of then No. 5 LSU, 45-24.

One day later, Clemson looked as vulnerable as it has in a long time in a 28-7 road loss to Duke. The Tigers have since responded with blowout wins over Charleston Southern and Florida Atlantic, but on Saturday, Clemson may see the stiffest competition it will all year.

While the offense fell asleep for the final quarter and a half and the defense laid an egg last week, FSU is loaded with talent. According to DraftKings Sportsbook, quarterback Jordan Travis has the fifth-best Heisman Trophy odds and could break the FSU career record for touchdowns accounted for on Saturday. Trey Benson has four rushing touchdowns over the last two weeks while wide receivers Johnny Wilson and Keon Coleman could pass for a starting frontcourt on some basketball rosters. FSU is deep in the trenches on both sides of the ball and defensive end Jared Verse could be the first EDGE player off the board in the 2024 NFL Draft.

Now, FSU has had lengthy losing streaks to rivals before. It lost six straight to Miami from 2000 to 2004 and half-dozen in a row to Florida from 2004 to 2009. Despite those bad streaks, the Seminoles were still able to put together 10-win seasons, ACC championships, and/or top-10 finishes.

In the aforementioned cases, snapping the streaks ultimately led to greater accomplishments. Beating Miami in 2005 allowed FSU to go on to win the ACC for the final time under legendary head coach Bobby Bowden. FSU’s win over rival Florida in 2010 culminated in its first 10-win season in seven years.

Coming off its first 10-win season since 2016, FSU has not won the ACC since 2014 nor played in a major bowl since 2016. Over the 5-year stretch from 2017 to 2021, it never won more than seven games and suffered four losing seasons. For the Seminoles to take the next step and prove that they are once again among the nation’s elite, the first step seems to be reclaiming the ACC. If they are to do that, Saturday’s contest feels like a must-win.

FSU is light years better than it was in 2018 when Clemson came to Doak Campbell Stadium and handed the Seminoles their worst ACC loss ever, 59-10, but that serves as little consolation. At FSU, the expectation is to play for championships. Beating Clemson and getting to Charlotte might be the first major domino if that is to be in the cards for 2023.

- Mike Ferguson is the lead writer for Double Fries No Slaw. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson. For all of his work, “Like” or “Follow” Mike on Facebook.