Tigers and Seminoles: Inside the Numbers

The No. 2 Tigers are 27-point favorites over the Florida State Seminoles in Saturday's game at Death Valley. That is the the most points the Noles have been an underdog by in the last 40 seasons. The only other time they were a 20-point dog was in '09 to Florida.A closer look at the numbers show why the Tigers are such heavy favorites over the Seminoles.

The Clemson Tigers and Florida State State meeting in 2019 after having represented the Atlantic Division in the ACC Championship Game every year since 2009, Swinney's first full season as the Tigers' head coach. Clemson represented the division in the championship game six times in those 10 years, with Florida State doing so in the other four.

Clemson enters this week in search of a milestone victory for the program. At 749-459-45 all-time, Clemson is one win away from becoming the 15th FBS program to record 750 all-time wins. Clemson would be the first ACC program to reach the 750-win mark.

After playing the first five games of the season as the nation's top-ranked team, Clemson enters this week as the No. 2-ranked team in the AP Poll. In Head Coach Dabo Swinney's tenure, the Tigers have routinely responded well following dips in the AP rankings.

Under Swinney, Clemson is 21-4 in games in which it enters ranked lower in the AP Poll than it did in its previous contest. This includes the 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2018 season openers in which Clemson opened the season lower than its ranking from the final game of the previous campaign. Clemson has won its last 13 games when entering ranked lower in the AP Poll than in its previous game.

The No. 2 Tigers are 27-point favorites over the Florida State Seminoles in Saturday's game at Death Valley. That is the the most points the Noles have been an underdog by in the last 40 seasons. The only other time they were a 20-point dog was in '09 to Florida.

A closer look at the numbers show why the Tigers are such heavy favorites over the Seminoles.