Clemson is not in a position to count its chickens before they hatch this football season. However, news coming out of Tallahassee about rival Florida State should have Tigers fans' intrigue. With Florida State University president Richard McCullough moving on from former athletic director Michael Alford, that makes the seat head coach Mike Norvell is sitting on hotter than the sun.
Coming off its first of two bye weeks this year, Florida State is 1-1 (0-1) on the season. While the Seminoles did beat New Mexico State at home in Week 0, it ripped defeat away from the jaws of victory versus SMU on Labor Day night. With a trip to Tuscaloosa coming up on Saturday, we may be seeing Norvell coaching his last game in Tallahassee. If not, then he may not even make it to Clemson.
After Alabama, Florida State has home games with Central Arkansas and Virginia before traveling to Louisville and Miami. The Seminoles will then have their second bye before hosting Clemson on Halloween. Florida State may be 2-5 (0-4) by that point, possibly with an interim head coach leading the way. To be quite frank, this may be the much-needed ACC layup Dabo Swinney needs right now.
Clemson does not have the most daunting of ACC schedules beyond the Miami home date in three weeks. That being said, it may need to find wins in conference play at home against North Carolina, at California, and then at home vs. the Hurricanes not looking promising. With Charleston Southern and Virginia Tech at home before the Florida State game, Clemson might be out of options.
An AD change at FSU, which many have been expecting since the summer. https://t.co/VCRM1vzzKY
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) September 14, 2026
Mike Norvell's looming FSU termination may be addition by subtraction
Assuming Swinney is allowed to coach out the year, no matter how bad it may get for Clemson this year, there is a non-zero chance the Tigers could also be 2-5 heading into the Florida State road date. That would require Clemson only picking up one more win between now and then vs. Charleston Southern. Since we did see positive signs versus Georgia Southern, Clemson could be better than that.
However, we cannot rule out the possibility that Florida State could improve without having its giant elephant in the room around anymore. The Seminoles experiencing addition by subtraction by way of an increasingly likely Norvell firing could be in play for them, too. This is why the rivalry game between Clemson and Florida State may be for more than just bragging rights. It can keep bowl eligibility alive.
Simply put, for Clemson to be in good standing when it comes to achieving bowl eligibility again this season, the Tigers probably need to take down one of two between UNC and Cal. Crazier outcomes have happened before, but the home date with Miami feels like a certain loss for the Tigers. Virginia Tech looks to be improved, but the James Franklin of it all could come back to haunt the Hokies here soon.
It is why the Florida State date needs to be circled on the calendar. In the event Clemson improves to 4-4 or better with that win, that will do wonders for the Tigers to get to six, seven, or more wins later. While Duke and South Carolina look strong to start, Georgia Tech is the only winless team in the ACC, and it is too early to peg what Syracuse is exactly. Thus, the Florida State game should matter a ton.
Clemson may not be able to look at any ACC foes as easy wins this season, but Florida State is close.
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