Clemson football opens up as 3-score favorites over Florida State
Clemson football looks to secure their place in the ACC Championship with a win over conference rival, Florida State this week.
Florida State is in the midst of one of the most disappointing seasons in recent memory. The Seminoles began the season ranked No. 2 in the country, behind only Alabama.
The ‘Noles wound up losing to the Tide in the season opener, also losing starting quarterback, Deondre Francois in the process. Any hopes of making it back to the College Football Playoff appeared crushed after just one week.
Since then things have only gotten worse for the Seminoles. Fishers squad has since dropped games to NC State, Miami, Louisville and Boston College, the latter of the three being a blowout loss.
Odds-makers don’t expect Florida State to turn things around against Clemson. The Tigers are 19 point favorites coming into this one, according to SportsBookReview.com.
Thoughts
The Tigers may have struggled against NC State, but, not badly enough to cause any worries against Florida State.
The Seminoles are a talented football team. Jimbo Fisher and his staff consistently put together some of the top recruiting classes in the country each signing period. That being said, the ‘Noles are not playing up to their potential this year.
FSU’s offensive line has struggled to protect the quarterback. This problem has been exacerbated by their inexperience at the position. James Blackman, while he has played well in spurts, has made more than a few freshman mistakes since taking over as the starter.
Clemson defensive coordinator, Brent Venables is going to do his best to fluster Jimbo Fisher’s young signal caller. Given how Blackman has played against the better defenses he’s faced, i.e. NC State and Miami, I don’t expect the ‘Noles to put up many points against Clemson.
The Seminoles are better on the defensive side of the ball, but, that doesn’t make them good either. Despite having a roster full of NFL talent, the ‘Noles are underachieving on defense. FSU defensive coordinator, Charles Kelly’s days are number in Tallahassee. Florida State ranks in the middle of the pack in nearly every defensive category, once again. They simply haven’t lived up to Jimbo Fisher’s standard of play on that side of the ball for the past couple of seasons.
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What’s especially worrisome for the ‘Noles coming into this week is their play against the run. They are currently giving up 156 rushing yards per game. That won’t cut it against Clemson, who has one of the top rushing attack’s in the country, averaging 220 yards per game on the ground.