Florida State vs. Clemson Prediction: Can Cade Klubnik, Clemson Win Three in a Row?
Florida State and Clemson face off on Saturday afternoon. Can Cade Klubnik and Clemson win three in a row? Ben Rajavuori answers.
Ben Rajavuori - September 22, 2023, 4:12 PM EDT
7 minFlorida State vs. Clemson Prediction: Can Cade Klubnik, Clemson Win Three in a Row?
Florida State hits the road in back-to-back weeks to move to 3-0, although a close, two-point win over Boston College as 25.5-point favorites dropped them a spot in the AP poll, moving Texas up to No. 3 in the nation. Clemson, meanwhile, bounced back from their week one loss to Duke with wins against Charleston Southern and FAU. Florida State, as the No. 4 team in the nation, is just a two-point favorite in this game against un-ranked Clemson. Can Dabo Swinney get the biggest win of the season so far at home in Week 4?
Florida State vs. Clemson Date, Start Time, and Where to Watch
- Date: September 23, 2023
- Game Time: 12:00 pm ET
- Where to Watch: ABC
Florida State vs. Clemson Prediction
The best way to describe Florida State's effort last week against Boston College is a look-ahead spot to this week's game against Clemson. Florida State has lost seven consecutive meetings against Clemson heading into this matchup, and Florida State was a +4 underdog on the lookahead line for this game weeks ago. The last time Florida State beat Clemson was in 2014, when Florida State was ranked No. 1 in the country. Now, they are ranked 4th, undefeated, playing an unranked Clemson team.
Clemson struggled in the week one blowout loss to Duke. Cade Klubnik finished with just 209 passing yards and threw for one touchdown while also throwing a pick. Clemson really struggled offensively in that game, turning the ball over three times and going 0-2 on fourth-down conversions. They ended with just seven points.
In the next two games, Clemson got to beat up on two bottom feeders, routing Charleston Southern and FAU, neither of which was a true test to see if Clemson had a fluke in game one. Rather, this game will be the true test. This will be the toughest game on Clemson's schedule this season, and they are just two-point underdogs.
Jordan Travis and Florida State struggled last week offensively. Travis didn't throw the ball much, but he finished 15-24 with 222 yards and two touchdowns. The Seminoles kept it on the ground for the most part, which Boston College picked up on and actually did a pretty good job stopping the run. Boston College finished with 107 more yards of offense but ended up losing by two after rallying back in the fourth with a 13-0 fourth-quarter margin. The game finished closer than it really looked in the second half, although the two-point win is still not a great look for a top-five program in the country.
While the line being -2 in Florida State's direction may look like a "trap" line, I don't see it that way. This line opened -4 in Clemson's direction, meaning it has moved nearly a touchdown in the direction of Florida State. Defensively, these teams are similar, but this game comes down to Jordan Travis being the better quarterback and the Seminoles having a better wide receiving room. Clemson struggled against the only decent team they have faced so far this season, and two blowouts over bottom-tier programs does not have me convinced this team has shaken off the week one struggles against Duke. Klubnik just has not looked that good. Give me the road team laying two points, which is just under that key number of three.
Florida State vs. Clemson Pick
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