Clemson Football: FSU’s upset checklist at home vs. Tigers
How Clemson football loses a second-straight game
The Clemson football team enters this weekend’s matchup with the Florida State Seminoles as a heavy 35-point favorite and for good reason.
The Seminoles are depleted with a flurry of injuries and opt-outs and they are currently tied for the worst record in the ACC (1-6 in conference play) heading into this one.
To make matters worse, Clemson has now had two weeks to get healthy and to get stars back at 100 percent- none greater than QB Trevor Lawrence, who missed the last two games.
If that wasn’t enough, Clemson football is coming off a disappointing double-overtime loss to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in South Bend. The Tigers need this win to keep control of their own destiny in the ACC Championship race and there’s no doubt that FSU will draw their full attention.
That being said, how does Clemson football get upset? After all, this is a rivalry game.
We’ve taken plenty of time talking about how the Tigers are going to completely dominate on Saturday, but here’s a look at the game from the opponent’s perspective and what they’ll be trying to do to pull off the improbable upset.
FSU’s Upset Checklist:
- Clemson has to come out unfocused or pushing too much to make plays.
- FSU QB Jordan Travis needs to almost be the second-coming of Lamar Jackson
- Tiger defensive line has to continue to struggle and not create pressure. They’ll be matching up with a bad FSU OL.
- Tiger offensive line struggles to get the running game going
- FSU wins the turnover margin.
If you want a list of things that need to happen for Florida State to pull off this upset, this is pretty close. The Seminoles need Jordan Travis- their third-string QB- to truly play like Lamar Jackson (Dabo Swinney described him in this way earlier in the week).
They’ve also got to find a way to win at the lines of scrimmage- something they haven’t done in several seasons now- and they’ve got to win the turnover battle.
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All in all? Clemson football should come out of this one not just with a victory, but a convincing win. Anything less will be disappointing because there’s no way that the Tigers should lose- or even come close to losing- this game.