The Seminoles and No. 22 Clemson Tigers will play in the ABC primetime slot with ESPN College GameDay on site for the third consecutive year
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The bye week is over and No. 1 Florida State’s preparation for No. 22 Clemson is full speed ahead.
The Seminoles host the Tigers on Saturday at 8 p.m. in a game that will be televised on ABC.
“(I’m) anxious to kick the week off,” Florida State head coach Jimbo Fisher said Monday in his weekly press conference. “We had a really productive off week last week, I thought we did a great job with our fundamentals with some game prep. We got better in a lot of areas in my opinion. I’m looking forward to this week. Clemson (will give us) a ton of challenges. They’re still very dynamic on offense – all the different formations and sets and the way they get the ball to people.”
Clemson’s top two offensive threats for the past three years are no longer with the Tigers as All-American quarterback Tajh Boyd graduated, while dynamic wide receiver Sammy Watkins is now catching passes from EJ Manuel on the Buffalo Bills. Still, the Tigers’ offense has found success this year using the no-huddle and utilizing the quarterback tandem of senior Cole Stoudt and freshman Deshaun Watson. The Tigers put up 73 points against SC State in their last game on Sept. 6.
“They’re very multi-formational, very multi-personnel based,” Fisher said. “All those different things factor in the speed of what they do and they’re well-coached, they’ve got great athletes. They can catch it, run it, they can block and all combined is very effective.”
The Seminoles and the Tigers were the only two schools in the nation to finish the 2013 season in the top 25 in scoring offense, scoring defense, total offense and total defense. While Clemson lost its top playmakers on offense, it returned some veteran stars on defense, including All-American defensive end Vic Beasley.
“(Beasley) is a very instinctive football player,” Fisher said. “Not only quick but powerful, can change direction, he’s got body quickness, can run. He can rush the passer and he can play the run, he can transition speed into power very quickly. He’s relentless. Stand up get down, move around, very good football player.”
Beasley had 13 sacks a year ago, but none came against the Seminoles. His matchup with the FSU offensive line – specifically left tackle Cameron Erving – will be pivotal in this annual rivalry matchup.
The winner of FSU-Clemson game has gone on to win the Atlantic Division and the ACC Championship the past three years.
Goldman Practices
Junior defensive tackle Eddie Goldman practiced on Monday after missing a week following an ankle injury in the Citadel game. Fisher said he expects Goldman along with cornerbacks P.J. Williams (hamstrings) and Ronald Darby to play on Saturday.
Defensive tackles Nile Lawrence-Stample and Justin Shanks were limited in practice on Monday following lower extremity injuries sustained against The Citadel. Their status for Saturday Is unknown.
College GameDay Returns to Tallahassee
ESPN’s College GameDay Built by The Home Depot – college football’s longest running and most celebrated pregame show – will return to Tallahassee, Fla. this weekend for the Seminoles’ Top 25 match-up with Clemson. This is the third straight year the key ACC game has been featured by ESPN’s flagship college football show.
This will mark the 29th time the Seminoles have played a game with GameDay in attendance. The Seminoles have a long history with GameDay, dating to the program’s first “road show” appearance, which came Nov. 13, 1993 when No. 1 FSU visited No. 2 Notre Dame in the “Game of the Century” showdown in South Bend, Ind.
Florida State has actually won five consecutive games with College GameDay in attendance dating back to the 49-37 victory over Clemson on Sept. 22, 2012.
This will mark the fourth straight year GameDay has come to Tallahassee and will also be the second game FSU has played this season with GameDay on site, following the Seminoles’ season-opening 37-31 win over Oklahoma State on Aug. 30 when analyst Lee Corso and guest picker Stone Cold Steve Austin both picked the Noles to win at the end of the show held in Fort Worth.
The weekly three-hour Emmy Award-winning show (Saturday 9 a.m.-noon ET) is hosted by Chris Fowler, the GameDay team consists of analysts Corso, Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard and David Pollack with reporting by Samantha Ponder, Tom Rinaldi, Scott Van Pelt and Gene Wojciechowski.
COLLEGE GAMEDAY NOTES
• Saturday night’s ACC showdown between Clemson and Florida State marks the fourth consecutive year
the Noles have hosted ESPN College GameDay.
• Since 2011, FSU has been part of the featured College GameDay matchup six times (not including
Saturday’s game vs. Clemson). FSU is 5-1 in that span, winning its last five games.
• FSU vs. Clemson is one of College GameDay’s featured matchups for the third straight season. The
most frequent opponent on GameDay for the Noles has been state rivals Florida (7) and Miami (7).
• Saturday’s showdown between Florida State and Clemson will mark the 29th time FSU has played with
GameDay in attendance.
• GameDay’s first “road show” appearance came on Nov. 13, 1993, when No. 1 FSU visited No. 2 Notre
Dame in the “Game of the Century.”
• The ‘Noles have won 15 GameDay contests, one of nine schools nationally to reach double-digits in
victories.
• Overall, FSU is 15-13 all-time in GameDay games, including 5-4 at home.
• Saturday’s matchup will mark the eighth time FSU has been ranked No. 1 in a GameDay game,
including its second this season after defeating Oklahoma State, 37-31, at the AdvoCare Cowboy Classic to start the season.
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