3 Things I'm Watching in Clemson's Matchup With Florida State

The Clemson Tigers are looking for a bounce-back spot this weekend, traveling to Tallahassee, Florida, to face the Florida State Seminoles on Saturday night.

After a difficult loss to the Virginia Tech Hokies at home, head coach Dabo Swinney now looks towards the next ACC game, looking to remain in slight contention for the conference championship with four games left to go against those opponents. Now, he faces a Seminole team looking to do the same.

Here are three things that I’ll be keeping a close eye on as the game goes on.

Clemson’s Quarterback Situation

It seems like, for the first time, Clemson will have a quarterback who will be called in if true freshman Tait Reynolds can’t meet the moment, and it’s the Tigers’ starter to begin the season.

Swinney has been quite blurry when it comes to the recovery process of senior Christopher Vizzina, who suffered an injury to his non-throwing arm back in September. Although he’s been off the injury report for the majority of games, he hasn’t been looked at while still recovering from it.

However, that could change this weekend, being one of Clemson’s first true road environments since LSU in Week 1. If Reynolds can’t handle the Doak Campbell Stadium noise, or if the Tigers can’t get anything going on offense, I’m keeping a close eye on Swinney going with his preseason starter to get reps against Florida State.

Perhaps it gives the offense the juice it needs.

Star vs. Star Out Wide

Clemson won’t see a wide receiver like Duce Robinson much this season. Similarly, Florida State won’t see a cornerback like Ashton Hampton this season. Now, the two will square off in Tallahassee this Saturday night.

Robinson has 22 receptions for 407 yards and four touchdowns on the year, but his 6-foot-6, 230-pound frame will be difficult for Hampton to handle. However, Clemson’s shutdown cornerback, who is from the city of Tallahassee originally, has done his job effectively against some of the best receivers in the entire country, like Miami’s Malachi Toney and Virginia Tech’s Que’Sean Brown, among others.

This contest will be Hampton’s first true homecoming since arriving at the Tigers in the 2024 season. He’s met the moment all year, but this matchup problem could have his hands full on Halloween night.

Running Back Shuffle?

Swinney had something to say regarding the performance of sophomore running back Gideon Davidson earlier this week. Then, he opened up a potential opportunity for other running backs to see the field for more snaps.

That will be a point of emphasis down in the Sunshine State this weekend.

There’s not much of an argument to say that Davidson is Clemson’s most talented tailback, leading the team in rushing yards and touchdowns so far this season, but it will be interesting to see if the Tigers decide to use a blend of running backs in this contest after watching the poor performance against the Hokies.

Could that open the door for more of Jarvis Green, Chris Johnson Jr. and Jay Haynes? Only time will tell, but Clemson’s run game will need to be efficient for the Tigers to leave Doak Campbell Stadium with a win on Halloween night.

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m., and the game will be broadcast on the ACC Network.

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