FSU falls short in bid to damage Clemson’s title hopes

And now, it’s time for the Florida State Seminoles to experience a completely new role.

Though they are not yet sure who’ll be playing the quarterback position on Saturday, the Seminoles know who will be running the ball, as sophomore Dalvin Cook put in a full week of practice for the first time since pulling a hamstring against Wake Forest on October 3, and will be ready to start the game at Clemson. Notre Dame is No. 5, followed by Baylor, Michigan State, TCU, Iowa and Florida.

WEIRD PLAY: You see plenty of clock management gaffes in college football, but never quite as egregious as what Clemson did late in the first half.

It’s impossible not to be pumped up for today’s Florida State vs Clemson football game. Now, Clemson will have an opportunity to once and for all prove they are a force to be reckoned with on the national level. Not until the fourth head coach since Danny Ford was sacked after the 1989 season has the program fully turned the corner.

Clemson will likely stay among the Top 4 teams in the country in the College Football Playoff, and will finish the regular season in the ACC title game in Charlotte.

FSU, the three-time defending ACC champion, is poised to become a … spoiler. Otherwise, it’s been rough. Roberto Aguayo had two field goals, the last from 41 yards out that tied the game at 13-all in the third quarter. The Tigers stopped Cook on third and fourth down runs in the fourth quarter with the Seminoles a yard from a first down. In 2013, a game billed as the biggest in ACC history, was over before it started with Clemson committing four turnovers. The Tigers kept No. 17 Florida State out of the end zone after that while quarterback Deshaun Watson shook off early jitters. Travis Rudolph, who was great a week ago, has six catches for 87 yards but also had the game-sealing fumble with 2:15 remaining. Each of the previous six winners of the game also won the ACC Atlantic Division and the last four won the conference championships.

“As you go through the season and climb that mountain higher and higher the margin for error gets smaller, the margin for error gets thinner”, Swinney said.

“Am I pumped about 8-0?” “We just have to keep our hands on the wheel and not get distracted”. A year later, Jimbo Fisher took over for Bobby Bowden at Florida State and in the seasons since they have resstablished the Tigers and Seminole as the teams to beat in the ACC. LSU has yet to lose a game this season, albeit the Tigers have survived a few scares including a missed game-winning field goal in the season opener.

Swinney – whose remarkable recruiting run has keyed the Tigers’ rise to national prominence – says his team won’t celebrate until the final rankings come out. “He did well against us past year and he did well last week”.

The team was young that season, his second full season.

Someday we will get to that. “We didn’t handle the success well that season, and then we didn’t handle the adversity well either”.

Fifth-year senior Charone Peake, a former Dorman star who has been hampered by injuries over his time, made the two most important plays of his career.

“He’s improved all throughout the year”, Swinney said of Cain. “I don’t think any part of that’s defining”, Fisher told reporters. “We’re just getting going”, he said. “I think all games are defining”.