Five burning questions for Clemson against Florida State ... and a prediction
No. 4 Clemson (7-1) can stay in the College Football Playoff picture with a win at Florida State (2-6) on Saturday.
Clemson is coming off of a bye week and will have star quarterback Trevor Lawrence back after he missed the previous two games from testing positive for COVID-19 on Oct. 29.
The Tigers are 35.5-point favorites for the ACC game, which will take place at noon and be televised by ABC.
Here are our top five questions heading into the game:
1. How many players will Clemson get back?
The Tigers for sure will have Lawrence back against FSU, but he was far from the only player who was missing for Clemson’s last game at Notre Dame.
Mike Jones Jr., James Skalski and Tyler Davis were also ruled out before the Notre Dame game. And several players were banged up during the game, including Frank Ladson Jr., Joseph Ngata, Matt Bockhorst, Bryan Bresee, Lannden Zanders, Nolan Turner, Justin Mascoll, Andrew Booth and Sheridan Jones.
Swinney was pretty vague on injuries this week, other than to say that Skalski and Ladson will for sure be out against the Seminoles. Everyone else is “day-to-day,” Swinney said. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see others out as well. With COVID cases rising throughout the country, there could also be some last-minute players unable to play.
2. Can Jordan Travis give Clemson any trouble?
Tigers defensive coordinator Brent Venables said this week that FSU starting QB Jordan Travis is “like Lamar Jackson as a runner.” While it seems a bit premature to compare Travis to the NFL MVP, he has made plenty of plays in the running game this season. Travis is averaging 5.5 yards per carry, and he rushed for 107 yards and two touchdowns in FSU’s upset win over No. 5 UNC last month.
Travis is completing only 52% of his passes, and it’s hard to have success against Clemson’s defense if you’re one-dimensional. If Travis is able to get in the open field, he’s capable of making Clemson defenders miss and creating some big plays. Notre Dame QB Ian Book rushed for 67 yards against the Tigers.
3. Can Clemson’s running game get going?
One of the biggest areas of focus for Clemson’s offense during the off week was finding a way to be more consistent in the running game. The Tigers had 34 rushing yards against the Irish, Clemson’s lowests total in a game since 2011.
Tigers offensive coordinator Tony Elliott said this week that Clemson’s offensive line needs to do a better job run blocking and that there could be some changes in the starting lineup. Clemson could also pass more on first down, particularly if teams load the box. Against Notre Dame, the Tigers had 20 carries for 40 yards on first down. When passing on first down, Clemson was 10 of 14 for 205 yards and a touchdown.
4. Will Cornell Powell’s hot streak continue?
With Lawrence out, Dabo Swinney challenged Clemson’s veterans on offense to step up. Senior receiver Cornell Powell responded in a big way, catching 17 passes for 266 yards and a touchdown during the two games Lawrence missed. The 266 yards Powell had with D.J. Uiagalelei at quarterback is more than he had in the previous six games with Trevor Lawrence at the helm.
With Lawrence back, it will be interesting to see if Powell’s production declines or if he can stay hot.
5. Can Florida State hang around?
The Seminoles already pulled off one stunner this season, upsetting No. 5 North Carolina last month. But FSU was only a 13.5-point underdog that week. Clemson is favored by more than five touchdowns. Even if Clemson doesn’t get back all of its injured players, the Tigers have so much talent that it’s hard to envision this being a close game in the second half.
Clemson-Florida State score prediction
Trevor Lawrence has been “chomping at the bit” to get back on the field, according to Swinney. And Lawrence would also love to pile up numbers after slipping in the Heisman race while he was out with COVID. Clemson is still a little sour after falling at Notre Dame, and my guess is the Tigers take it out on the Seminoles Saturday afternoon.
Pick: Clemson 55, FSU 13
Clemson football 2020 schedule, game scores
Sept. 12: Clemson 37, Wake Forest 13
Sept. 19: Clemson 49, The Citadel 0
Oct. 3: Clemson 41, Virginia 23
Oct. 10: Clemson 42, Miami 17
Oct. 17: Clemson 73, Georgia Tech 6
Oct. 24: Clemson 47, Syracuse 21
Oct. 31: Clemson 34, Boston College 28
Nov. 7: Notre Dame 47, Clemson 40, 2 OT
Nov. 14: Open
Nov. 21: at Florida State, ABC, noon
Nov. 28: vs. Pitt
Dec. 5: at Virginia Tech
This story was originally published November 20, 2020 at 11:14 AM.
