Clemson’s win sets up a showdown for ACC supremacy, much more

When B.J. Goodson was a kid running around tiny Lamar looking for pickup games, a College Football Playoff with a billion dollar TV deal was an almost surreal concept.

Florida State was royalty in college football, the king of the ACC, and for anybody to flirt with a national championship they probably had to deal with the Seminoles, either during the season or in a bowl game.

Around the same time, Dabo Swinney came out of a self-imposed hiatus from football to join the Clemson coaching staff. The hope at Clemson then was that Tommy Bowden, son of legendary Florida State coach Bobby Bowden, would lead them from the wilderness.

But Swinney inherited the job, and while so much has changed, Florida State has remained one of the constants.

Swinney intends to win another ACC title, and if Clemson has any shot at reaching the College Football Playoff this year then the Tigers must take down Florida State next Saturday.

All that must have crossed Goodson’s mind in the fourth quarter Saturday after leading with his right shoulder in an effort to tackle N.C. State quarterback Jacoby Brissett, a 240-pound quarterback built like a gladiator.

Brissett kept the Wolfpack in the game, refusing to wilt and standing like a redwood against a Clemson defense that hadn’t allowed more than 300 yards but once all season.

The game was stopped after Goodson’s tackle, and officials reviewed replays to determine if he was guilty of targeting, which would result in an automatic ejection and carry over into the next game.

“We knew it was going to be a hard-fought game,” said Goodson, a linebacker on a defense with a reputation for toughness. “We knew they weren’t going to give us anything.”

Clemson doesn’t have the depth at linebacker like it has at running back, receiver and safety, so losing either Goodson or fellow linebacker Ben Boulware – even for a half – against Florida State would be a blow.

“You’ve got to make those plays,” Goodson said. “I was very nervous, but you’ve just got to be smart. I can’t put my teammates in that type of predicament. I knew it was a high hit, but I knew it was a possibility. I thought it was clean.”

Goodson finished the game with eight tackles including a sack and forced a fumble. He’ll be on the field all four quarters next week.

“A lot of heart from this team,” Swinney said, “Good to see our guys not flinch and play all the way to the end.”

In the heat of the moment, Swinney didn’t have time to think about next week or the potential vulnerability to Clemson’s post-season resume. The CFP committee meets on Monday to compile its first rating for 2015, and likely Clemson will be near the top.

This is rarified air, and Swinney understands how little things can conspire to derail a juggernaut.

“We made enough mistakes to lose,” he said Saturday night after a 56-41 win. “We made enough plays to win, too.”

Chief on Clemson’s resume is an 8-0 record. The last team at Clemson to open 9-0 won a national championship.

“We got a chance to clinch our division next week with a win over the team that’s been the best team in the conference the last few years,” Swinney said. “We’re just trying to win the division.”

Nevertheless, it’s difficult to deflect the attention that’s been heaped on his team after running up more than 2,000 yards over the past four opponents.

“I think we’re a team obviously that’s in the hunt. We’ve earned that,” he said. “It’s fun to be in November going into the championship run to be in the conversation. That’s where we want to be. We embrace that, but we want to be their Dec. 6.

“To win the division, win that ACC championship game, win this conference,” he said. “We do that, we’ve got all kinds of opportunities to come along with that.”

This story was originally published October 31, 2015 at 9:38 PM with the headline "Clemson’s win sets up a showdown for ACC supremacy, much more."