Florida State (1-4, 1-3 ACC) will take on Clemson (3-1, 2-0) in Doak Campbell Stadium on Saturday night. The Seminoles are a 14.5-point underdog to the Tigers. FSU quarterback Brock Glenn will be making his first start of the season for the Seminoles.
The Osceola staff offers their keys to an FSU upset win over the Tigers along with our predictions on who will win the game.
Bob Ferrante
Bring the energy: Or else? Dabo Swinney will name the score. The results on the scoreboard are disheartening for players and coaches, but there was legitimate regression in a 42-16 loss to SMU. When things snowball on the Seminoles — call it a momentum shift or a need to stand up to adversity — this team's response was lacking. FSU will face adversity often against No. 15 Clemson. Accept the challenge and fight back. It's a rivalry game at night inside Doak. There's not much more of an internal fire that should need to be lit.
Back up the backup quarterback: Brock Glenn gets his first significant snaps of the year against Clemson. The coaches should have found a drive or two against GT, BC, Memphis or Cal. To throw Glenn out there with all of the offense's shortcomings against a very-good-but-not-stellar Clemson defense is a tough ask. So let's start with the basics: block, catch and run. Communicate well. Minimize the pre-snap penalties. FSU's offense wasn't going to find success with DJ Uiagalelei passing 30+ times per game. That shouldn't be the formula for Glenn either. Establish a run game, achieve some run-pass balance, move the chains and try to build drives that result in touchdowns or field goals. For the moment Glenn might be viewed by coaches as the backup. But if this offense can achieve some efficiency, the job should be his regardless of Uiagalelei's injury status moving forward. If it looks good, Glenn can learn from the experience, go into the bye week to rest and prepare for Duke.
Prediction: Clemson 34, Florida State 17
Game experience, development in practice give Glenn confidence
Pat Burnham
Will the "real ones" please stand up: Mike Norvell said earlier this week that he has a locker room full of "real ones." He went on to say the "real ones" rise up to challenges and adversity. The only shot that FSU has at beating Clemson is if those real football players that Norvell thinks he has in his locker room show up and then show out. It will take career- or season-best type games from the likes of Lawrance Toafili, Darius Washington, Maurice Smith, Josh Farmer, Darrell Jackson, Pat Payton, AZ Thomas, Shyheim Brown and others to reverse the current direction of the 2024 season. And I am not talking about one or two of these guys playing their best football of the season, I am talking about all of the aforementioned players and then some. Norvell has continued to back up his team during a dismal 1-4 start to this season. Now it's time for his players to back him up. Norvell said before the season started that this was the most explosive, fastest and strongest group of players he has had at Florida State. If those guys show up, FSU might pull off one of the biggest upsets of the season to date. If they don't, this season will continue to implode at an unfathomable level.
Disciplined Defense: Through four games 45 percent of Clemson passing plays have come off play action. That's not good news for a team that has had trouble defending the pass due to play action and pre-snap motion. The back seven of the Seminoles' defense must use great eye discipline, read and trust their keys, and do a better job of understanding down and distance because of what Clemson does with the passing game. Linebackers and safeties can't get caught biting on the run on passing downs. If they do, Tigers QB Cade Klubnik and the Clemson offense will have a big day.
The other guys: Brock Glenn is starting and much of the focus of the FSU offense will be on him, but it shouldn't be. His starting should give Norvell the flexibility of being more aggressive with his play calling. Glenn being named the starter gives FSU a quarterback who can make plays in the run game as a ball carrier and means Clemson will have to account for him on every single zone read run and RPO play. He can also buy some time in passing situations when protection breaks down because of his athleticism. FSU's offense has been stuck in the mud all season. It may not rock with Glenn at the helm, but it just might get rolling and any improvement on that side of the ball gives you a better chance to win. That being said, this will still be more about the help he gets from the 10 guys on the field with him and the coach calling the plays if FSU is to upset Clemson.
Prediction: Clemson 44, FSU 22
Jerry Kutz
The title of this story is "keys to victory," which sounds like a fairy tale to anyone paying a modicum of attention to Florida State and Clemson this year, but the assignment is the keys to a victory, right? So, I'll play along.
Keys to victory: One key would be for Clemson to catch a bad case of the 24-hour flu or a terminal case of over confidence. If I was Dabo, I would not show my players one frame of the 2024 FSU team's first five games. Instead, I'd feed them a continuous reel of the 2023 Seminoles' win over his boys and bring them with a blood thirst for revenge. But then I'm no Dabo. Strange things happen in college football every week, I'm not sure stranger than an FSU upset of Clemson, but here's what I think the keys would have to be for an upset to happen.
Don't lose Doak: FSU needs its fans cheering rather than jeering. Starting Brock Glenn will bring the biggest cheer of the year. If the offense can have a little early success it will buy equity with an angry fan base that could pay dividends later in the game. One big offensive play could spark the emotion that's been lacking from the players and the crowd and that would be an important step in the right direction.
Limit the bad stuff: Dropped passes, fumbles, penalties — especially of the unforced variety — missed assignments, blocks and head-scratching play calls, and on defense, limit the missed tackles, gash plays, third- and fourth-down conversions, second-chance opportunities. You can't hope to eliminate them, but you'll have to limit them.
Make more plays: Do the little stuff well. Run block. Protect the passer. If you can't block them, get run over slower. Fight and don't quit. Make a quick, easy throw. Throw the ball away rather than take a sack. Scramble for a first down when it presents itself. Don't turn a bad play into a disaster. Run your routes at the right depth. Look the ball in and catch the ball with both hands before trying to run. Run hard when you have it and block hard when you don't. Convert more third downs. If you see the ball on the ground, fall on it, value the possession. If Tigers QB Cade Klubnik throws it right at you, see receiver keys. Look it in. Catch the ball with both hands. Don't think about running it until you've secured the possession. And, for the love of God, show some emotion. Celebrate the good plays and buckle your chin strap a little tighter after your bad plays. Show no quit.
Prediction: 24-21 upset if the 'Noles Limit the Bad Stuff and Make More Plays and the Tigers don't come ready to play.
Otherwise, Clemson 44, FSU 13
Curt Weiler
Help Brock: We've talked it to death over the first five games of the season. FSU's offensive problems this season have gone far beyond DJ Uiagalelei. The fan base will get its wish this weekend as redshirt freshman Brock Glenn takes over at quarterback vs. Clemson. But if the rest of the offense looks like it has for much of the season to date, the quarterback change won't mean much of anything. Those players around Glenn need to help him in his third career start Saturday night. Receivers/tight ends need to cut out the drops that have plagued the offense. The offensive line needs to raise its level of play much closer to what was expected of that unit entering the season. If the defense were to give the offense a short field or two with a takeaway — FSU has just three forced turnovers in five games this season — that would be a big bonus.
Limit explosives: Much of Clemson's offensive success over the last three seasons has been thanks to its ability to create chunk plays that lead to big gains. The Tigers enter Saturday in the top 15 nationally in plays of 30+ yards (15), 40+ yards (8), 50+ yards (5), 60+ yards (3) and 70+ yards (3, tied for second-most nationally). Cade Klubnik's legs, a much-improved offensive line, some promising younger receivers and another standout running back have combined to make the Tigers a big-play machine in their last three games over which they have averaged 55 points. FSU's defense has done well to avoid allowing especially big chunk plays so far this season. FSU is one of only 24 teams nationally that hasn't allowed a play of 50+ yards this season. And, yet, the Seminoles are tied for 100th nationally having allowed 11 plays of 30+ yards and 79th in plays of 40+ yards (5) so there have been some problems at times allowing explosives. It feels like the only path to FSU keeping competitive in this game is making Clemson sustain drives, string plays together and avoiding those chunk plays that have been Clemson's bread and butter the last few weeks.
Prediction: Clemson 41, Florida State 17
Clemson's rejuvenated offense will present challenges for FSU
Charles Fishbein
Keys to win or upset over Clemson? FSU can change the entire narrative of its 2024 season with a win over Clemson. Here are my keys to an upset win for the Seminoles.
First points: The first thing they need to do is get off to a quick start on offense and score quickly. They need to take the lead and get some momentum and confidence to where they believe a win is possible.
That new car smell: Start Brock Glenn. Oh, wait, Brock is starting. Nothing like a new car smell. Brock is who the fans were cheering for a couple of weeks ago. They get their wish as Brock will once again start against one of the best defenses in the nation. Brock should give the offense some initial spark. The question: Can FSU maintain it through four quarters?
Turnover turnaround: For a team that has a mission takeaway slogan in practice for forced interceptions and fumbles it has not translated to the football field. FSU needs to get two or three turnovers to have any shot at winning this game.
Block Party: No, I am not talking about FSU offensive line. We will leave that for another day. To pull an upset you need to create momentum anyway possible. Blocking a punt would be a start. FSU needs to go after a punt and try and block it.
Final Thoughts: Through five games FSU has shown nothing on the field for us to predict a win for FSU. The offense has been downright terrible. As Jim Carrey's character in the movie Dumb and Dumber said had after being told by the character Mary Swanson he had a million and one shot: "So, you're telling me there's a chance." FSU has a chance at an upset, but the odds are not in their favor.
Prediction: Clemson 41, Florida State 17
Nick Carlisle
Don't get Behind the 8-ball too quickly: The way this game gets really ugly for Florida State is if Clemson can get up by double digits early and take the crowd out of the game. Fans and players alike get up for rivalry games like no other and that may be even more true now that Brock is the starting quarterback (at least from the fan POV). The way that all goes away is if FSU comes out flat and is down by 14 before the first 15 minutes are even done. I do believe FSU can keep this game close but not if they are playing from behind early with a QB in only his third start.
Get Creative, Get A Spark: This is an opportunity for the Florida State offense to find a spark. The playbook should be open, and options should be on the table for Mike and Brock. There is no tape on Brock in this version of the offense, so Mike has the opportunity to try new things in the RPO game. The surrounding cast of players has to show up and it's non-negotiable. If Brock is playing good enough to win, the rest of the offense needs to hold up their end of the bargain. No bad drops, no stupid penalties that make an uphill battle, an insurmountable one
Prediction: Clemson 35, Florida State 21
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