Third-and-Lang: The daunting Clemson challenge for FSU's offense

Since this is Florida State’s most anticipated October game -- rivalry or otherwise -- in quite some time, we thought it prudent to examine FSU’s trip to Clemson across two features.

If you missed the first Third-and-Lang piece this week, check it out here. In that installment, we looked in-depth at the Tiger offense through a combination of the eye test and the magnifying-glass metrics of Pro Football Focus.

Today, the focus shifts toward Mike Norvell and Kenny Dillingham. Where can their Seminole offense succeed against Brent Venables on Saturday? The first way to study Venables is to know what not to look at …

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In scouting Clemson’s defense ahead of a specific matchup, if you’re not looking closely at the offense the Tigers are facing, you could be wasting your time.

What does that mean, exactly? Florida State offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham explained it really well on Monday:

“You’re not going to put on the game and say, 'Oh, this is what Clemson does defensively,'" Dillingham said. “You’re going to say, 'Holy cow, every week, they have a specific plan for who they play.’

“And that is not how most defenses play. Most defenses have an identity of who they are. [Clemson’s] identity is they’re gonna get after you. How they do that is gonna be based off of who you are, and it’s gonna be completely different every week.”

Translation: Throw out 90 percent of what you saw last weekend from Clemson’s road trip to Pitt. The Panthers base their offense primarily on pro-style route concepts and throws. Kenny Pickett executes those throws about as well as anyone in college football this season.

Florida State in 2021 could hardly be more different.

So what will it take to make things happen against the Tigers on Saturday? This first clip is a great place to start:

The route concept here is simple enough. It's called mesh, meaning you have two receivers mirroring each other as they drag across the middle of the field.

*Quarterback Jordan Travis does well to stand in the pocket as a free rusher approaches and deliver the short pass on time.

*First, Malik McClain keeps his feet to put himself in position for some yards after the catch. But what comes next is the most important -- and it's what we have been seeing a lot of lately from a host of 'Noles.

*After completing his flare or rail route, running back Lawrance Toafili doesn't stop playing. Instead, he looks to make something happen for McClain, scoring a physical downfield block on a UMass defender. This type of relentlessness from Toafili and Ontaria Wilson will be critical against a defense like Clemson.

One of the keys to catch Clemson with a solid blow is to get the Tigers' defense out of alignment. It does not happen often, but pre-snap motion and/or tempo can give the offense a chance to break an explosive play.

Here is a successful bit of scheming Syracuse broke out against Clemson, with motion as the catalyst.

*Pre-snap motion from the receiver, running from the field to the boundary sets the stage. Clemson's second-level defenders over-commit to an option-fake and are outflanked with the ball in running back Sean Tucker's possession.

*Notice the blocking from the receivers? That helps spring the play well beyond the line to gain.

Some context that should fire up Florida State fans for Saturday: In Brent Venables' preparation for Syracuse, there is little doubt that the first player Venables game-planned for was Orange running back Sean Tucker. There is no logical reason to honor Garrett Shrader's arm, so the run is the primary focus for the Tigers all the way.

And yet, Tucker didn't just hit this 54-yard run. He ran for 103 more yards on 21 other carries. Despite Clemson's opponent-specific preparation for an offense that wants to run it at a similar ratio as Florida State, Tucker still had a big day.

Does this mean it's a shoo-in that the FSU ground attack will succeed in Death Valley? Far from it. But if we take Kenny Dillingham at his word, this Syracuse game is a far more comparable performance to draw insight from than the Pitt game last week.

Despite a full week (maybe more given, you know, UMass) to consider the matchup, I am still more scatterbrained than key-holed in figuring on how this could play out.

Here are some of my many thoughts heading into Saturday:

*Clemson's linebackers are without a doubt the best that Florida State has seen so far this season. If most meetings between James Skalski, Baylon Spector and Jordan Travis take place between the tackles, advantage Clemson. But if Travis can isolate against them on the perimeter, it's a big advantage for the 'Noles. Both Garrett Shrader and Kenny Pickett were able to pick up some chunks on the Tiger linebackers in space. Travis is on another level athletically.

*First down will be mighty critical in this game for FSU -- not just to stay out of negative plays, but for what it can do as a drive develops. Chances are the Seminoles are not going to generate consistent offense, so the key will be to put Clemson in a position to turn somebody loose. Tempo is still the best way to create a wide-open look, and tempo largely comes from first-down success.

*From the Captain Obvious file: Continued calm in Travis' play is vital to any upset hopes. The Seminole signal-caller needs to have the poise necessary to run the read-option game of his life in Death Valley.

*There will be added pressure on Florida State's linebackers to be gap-sound. Clemson's Will Shipley is a one-cut runner with immense burst. He has shown to be, in some instances, better at getting through the line of scrimmage than leading rusher Kobe Pace, who is out for this game.

*Some of the formations FSU broke out against UMass were noticeably different. Two tight ends (or H-back types) in the backfield in addition to the running back can create some nice wrinkles that Norvell and company have not put on film yet. What do they have cooking?

*Also, based on the Seminoles' first touchdown on Saturday (pre-snap below), it would not be shocking to see the speed-option get some run on Saturday.

*Left guard Dillan Gibbons' status will be my principle focus as I check the pregame updates from our Warchant staff on Saturday afternoon.

*I will be nervous for all the right reasons for an FSU-Clemson matchup for the first time in five years.

Enjoy the game everyone!

Contact director of original content Tom Lang at Tom@warchant.com and follow him on twitter @_TomLang.

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