Clemson Football: Tigers need FSU to become competitive again

Why Clemson football needs Florida State to become competitive again

The Clemson football program used to have a legitimate competitor in the ACC year-in and year-out, but that hasn’t been the case for quite some time.

From the stretch of 2011-2016, the winner of Clemson-FSU would go on to be the ACC Champion. Many of the games were featured on ESPN College GameDay and they were always considered one of the major matchups of the year.

Now, while Clemson football has risen to the top on the nation, Florida State is considered a laughing stock.

Though it’s a ton of fun to see the Tigers’ conference rival floundering year after year with no seeming end in sight, there is a need for Florida State to at least emerge as a respectable opponent again.

Clemson football needs a conference rivalry to help lift the perception of the ACC again

Though the ACC has been much better this year compared to last, it still gets the talk of shame from national pundits across the country, which finds its way into the rooms of people who matter- like the CFB Playoff committee.

We’re not saying that we want to see Florida State rise to its glory of the 1990s or the dominance it played with under the Jameis Winston years, but the truth of the matter is that the ACC needs another program not named Clemson to rise up and become a perennial contender.

It’s not saying they have to CFB Playoff material, but a top-15, top-10 who competes for a spot in the playoff every now and then isn’t too much to ask for. Until the ACC has that and builds that reputation for having multiple teams- like Florida State, especially for namesake- in the conversation, things are always going to be harder on the Tigers if they do drop a game or if some weird things do happen across the country in other leagues.

Clemson football has held up the end of its deal, but Florida State has failed miserably. At some point, the Seminoles have to rise from the ashes and at least field a respectable program again, but they’re still years away from that coming to fruition.