No. 22 Clemson @ No. 1 Florida State (-16.5) TV: ABC 8pm Saturday
Daniel: This one was all FSU in 2013 with the Seminoles traveling to Death Valley and annihilating Clemson 51-14 on the road last year. The Tigers haven’t won in Tallahassee since 2006 either. Clemson is still reeling from the loss of a vast majority of its playmakers from last season as well. All of that should add up to a big FSU victory, but news that FSU quarterback Jameis Winston will miss the first half for basically being stupid makes it a little more complicated. I think FSU keeps it simple in the first half, making sure backup QB Sean Maguire doesn’t lose the game, and then pulls away with Winston back in the second half. Winner: FSU 34-21
Houston: Well, this one suddenly became much more interesting this week after Florida State announced that Jameis Winston would be suspended for the first half after some recent on-campus shenanigans. The Seminoles thrashed the Tigers last year at Clemson 51-14, so even with Winston in timeout this one still has all the makings of a Florida State route. Florida State will probably rely on the running game early in Winston’s absence, but considering that Clemson gave up 328 yards on the ground to Georgia in the opener, that may not be a bad thing for the Seminoles. Winner: Florida State 41-20
Reed: I’m not a huge believer in either one of these teams this year. The Seminoles have been underwhelming so far on both sides of the ball. They miss Kelvin Benjamin on offense and their defense is tied with Tennessee’s for 42nd nationally. Clemson, on the other hand, looked like a legitimate top-15 football team during the first half of their matchup with Georgia before getting completely destroyed in the second half. They didn’t have the horses to hang with Florida State at home last year and certainly won’t pose much of a threat to FSU in Tallahassee this Saturday – even with Jameis Winston’s absence for a half. Winner: Florida State 42-24
Patrick: Florida State went to Death Valley last year and dismantled a very good Clemson team that served as Jameis Winston’s Heisman coming out party when he threw for 444 yards and four touchdowns and added another score on the ground. The game will be in Tallahassee with College Gameday in attendance and the crowd will make things difficult for Cole Stoudt to have much success against this defense that will be getting a number of injured players back, including cornerback P.J. Williams.
The absence of Winston for the first half would be a significant one if not for the supporting cast on this offense that may have the nation’s best offensive line that will be asked to protect Sean Maguire so he can run the offense that should see increased activity from Karlos Williams, Mario Pender and maybe even some from true freshman Dalvin Cook.who had 13 carries for 67 yards and a touchdown in the Week 2 win over the Citadel.
This game would have been a blowout with Winston starting the game, but I still think the Seminoles win comfortable with him coming on in relief. Winner: Florida State 38-21
