The Clemson football team will host the Florida State Seminoles this Saturday in Death Valley. Here are five Tigers to watch in the ACC matchup.
The Clemson football team survived a scare against the North Carolina Tar Heels in Chapel Hill two weeks ago, coming away with a 21-20 victory.
Following the win, Clemson had a bye week in which the players and coaches worked to fix early issues and prepare for the second phase of the season.
The second phase begins Saturday with a matchup against the Florida State Seminoles.
The spotlight isn’t on this game like it used to be. The games between Clemson and Florida State a few years ago were almost automatic ESPN College GameDay sites. The two teams were ranked inside the top-10, at the very least the top-15, and provided some exciting matchups.
It’s just not the same today, though. Clemson football enters this game as a 24.5-point favorite and that spread could actually rise over the course of this week. The Tigers are currently ranked No. 2 in the nation, while Florida State was defeated at home by Boise State just a few weeks ago.
Though the Seminoles have back-to-back wins over NC State and Louisville, they aren’t on the same level as the Tigers in terms of talent, depth and coaching ability. Even so, we learned during the UNC game that no matchup is a sure win.
Here are five Clemson football players to watch during matchup with Florida State Saturday afternoon in Death Valley.
5. AJ Terrell
AJ Terrell certainly wants to right the ship after a bit of a disappointing performance last Saturday against UNC.
Terrell, who was considered one of the top cornerbacks in the nation coming into the season, was beaten on several occasions when facing North Carolina’s passing attack.
Just four plays into the game, Terrell was caught looking in the backfield and allowed his receiver to run a seam route right past him for an easy score to open up the game.
He was beaten on a couple of other occasions, as well.
Terrell will be looking to have a better performance this time around against a pretty talented Florida State wide receiver unit.
4. Lyn-J Dixon
Lyn-J Dixon only saw the field for a handful of drives against the Tar Heels.
Dixon didn’t get too many touches, carrying the ball just four times for 20 yards (5.0 YPC). He provided some help in pass-protection at times, but just wasn’t much of a factor on the field and didn’t see much playing time.
That will change this Saturday.
Look for the Clemson football coaching staff to get Dixon involved in the running game and try to take some of the weight off of Travis Etienne early.
Florida State has a talented defensive line, but has struggled stopping the run at times.
3. Justyn Ross
Justyn Ross has just been really quiet this season.
Ross absolutely tore up the Alabama secondary back in the National Championship game, making a few circus catches and asserting his dominance against the Crimson Tide.
We all expected it would be much of the same to begin this season, but he has been quiet and just hasn’t had all that many big-time plays.
Expect Trevor Lawrence to look his way early and try to get Ross involved. We’ve seen Tee Higgins and Amari Rodgers have big games, now it’s Justyn Ross’s turn.
2. Xavier Thomas
Florida State may have looked a bit improved against NC State and Louisville, but it’s clear that the Seminoles still have offensive line issues.
FSU will start James Blackman against the Tigers, but Alex Hornibrook will play and that should have the pass-rushers, particularly Xavier Thomas, licking their chops.
Thomas will have an opportunity for multiple sacks in this game. Hornibrook was sacked eight times against NC State and there’s no reason to believe that he won’t be hit a lot against Clemson this weekend.
Look for Thomas to finally have that breakout game where he separates himself from the other defensive ends.
1. Trevor Lawrence/Travis Etienne
Trevor Lawrence and Travis Etienne come in at our No. 1 spot.
Both Lawrence and Etienne had semi-rough weeks against UNC and neither have played up to the hype coming into this season as of yet.
Look for both Lawrence and Etienne to have solid games and for that Clemson football offense to have balance for the first time all season.
Etienne will have an opportunity to break off some big runs. Lawrence will hit on some big passes and make some plays, as well.
Either way you look at it, Clemson football fans are going to be watching Lawrence and Etienne, hoping that they can have an explosive outing.