Clemson’s trek to win the ACC Atlantic Division for the 6th time in 7 seasons will run through Tallahassee, as the No. 4 Tigers go to battle Saturday against a Florida State team coming off back-to-back losses.

The Seminoles started the season with 4 straight wins, but a pair of challenging Atlantic Division contests against Wake Forest and NC State proved to be a bit too much for Florida State to handle.

Clemson is doing what the Tigers do, now 6-0 on the season and fully in control of their own destiny in the Atlantic Division. For FSU, a really tough portion of the schedule will get even tougher Saturday with the Tigers coming to town.

Here are 5 advantages Clemson has over the Seminoles in this matchup between 2 of the ACC’s biggest programs:

Taking away an FSU strength on the ground

Florida State’s offense has started the season looking like one of the ACC’s best, and a big reason for the success has been the ability to establish things on the ground.

FSU is 2nd in the ACC with 204.2 rushing yards per game, and the Seminoles’ 5.57 yards per carry lead the league by a pretty wide margin. Those numbers are a bit skewed by a dominant game against Duquesne, but FSU still is averaging 5.4 yards per carry in ACC play.

Against the pretty stout rushing defense of then-No. 14 NC State this past weekend, Florida State ran for 206 yards and 7.36 yards per carry. Most of that came during a dominant 1st half, but the Seminoles found success against one of the ACC’s best defensive fronts.

But as we’ve seen this season, no defensive front in the league compares to Clemson’s. Absolutely nobody has been able to run the ball against the Tigers, as Clemson is 2nd to only James Madison nationally in yards per game (63.67) and yards per carry (2.20) allowed this season.

FSU’s offensive approach has been among the most balanced in the ACC in 2022. The Seminoles can throw the ball efficiently, but they’ve also shown they want to establish the run game just as much to help move the ball.

Against Clemson, establishing the run is a near-impossible task. The Tigers should be able to control FSU’s running attack, and it’s a huge advantage for Clemson.

The turnover battle leans the way of Clemson

The Seminoles have lost the turnover battle in 3 of 6 games this season, including in their losses to Wake Forest and NC State.

Against the Wolfpack, Jordan Travis threw 2 interceptions during the 4th quarter that really made the difference in the contest, the week after NC State couldn’t get turnovers it needed against Clemson.

On the other side is Clemson, which has yet to lose the turnover margin in any game this year. The Tigers were plus-2 in their important Oct. 1 home win against NC State, as Clemson’s defense has done a decent job of getting the ball while the offense hasn’t been turning it over.

The Tigers have turned the ball over just 1 time during the past 3 games, as Clemson seemingly has fixed some early fumbling woes.

One of the key ways to pull a big upset in college football is to win the turnover battle, but it’s something Clemson just hasn’t been losing this year.

Will Shipley against a pretty bad run-stopping defense

While Florida State might be running the ball well, the Seminoles certainly aren’t doing a good job of stopping the run.

Florida State sits 11th in the ACC with 155.33 rushing yards per game allowed, and the Seminoles have given quite a few teams their best running games of the conference campaign. Of the 4 ACC games FSU has played, its opponent has set its ACC season high in rushing in 3 games.

Wake Forest, which relies so much more on its passing game than its rushing attack, put up 171 yards on the ground against the Noles. Then last week, an NC State team that entered the game averaging just 86.75 rushing yards per game against Football Bowl Subdivision opponents rushed for 182 yards.
Enter Will Shipley, who is having quite the year on the ground for the Tigers. Shipley is averaging about 75 rushing yards per game, and he has 8 touchdowns already.

With a strong offensive line and Shipley leading the rushing attack against a Florida State defense that hasn’t done a great job of stopping it, Clemson should be able to move the ball efficiently.

A kicker they can trust

Having faith in a kicker matters, especially in tight games.

Against NC State, Florida State had the ball to the Wolfpack’s 22 late in the 4th quarter while trailing by just 2 points. But FSU kicker Ryan Fitzgerald came into the game just 4-for-9 on the year in field-goal attempts, and while he did make a 47-yarder earlier in the game, the faith clearly wasn’t fully there to let him win it.

FSU took a shot at the end zone from the Wolfpack 22 on 2nd-and-8 with just 38 seconds left and NC State with just 1 timeout. The result was an interception by Devan Boykin, as the Wolfpack sealed a victory that could have gone the other way with an FSU field goal that likely would have been from less than 40 yards.

For Clemson, B.T. Potter is a program great. He’s 11-for-13 on field-goal attempts this season and 64-for-84 for his career. He has notched a field goal of greater than 50 yards during each of the past 3 seasons, and there’s no question about Clemson’s faith in him.

If Saturday’s game in Tallahassee comes down to a late field-goal opportunity, it’s a massive advantage for the Tigers.

Getting in the backfield

Another area of strength vs. strength where Clemson likely will have the edge will be the Tigers’ ability to get into Florida State’s backfield.

Currently, the Seminoles have allowed the fewest sacks in the ACC, though FSU is middle of the pack in the league with 5 tackles for loss allowed per game. Travis, for the most part, has had time to make things work, and it’s helped him put together a really strong start to his campaign.

But again, blocking the defensive front of Clemson is a whole other animal. The Tigers lead the ACC and are 5th nationally in tackles for loss with 48, as Clemson has been living in opponents’ backfield. Clemson had a whopping 11 tackles for loss Saturday against Boston College, and it had 6 and 5, respectively, against Wake Forest and NC State.

It ties in with Clemson’s domination in defending the run, but the Tigers create havoc in the backfield. It’s something that should happen again against Florida State, and it will be interesting to see how the Seminoles respond.