A decade ago, Florida State made a statement at Clemson. The Seminoles waltzed into a top-five matchup against the Tigers and waltzed out as a serious national title threat. This year’s Noles may not have won that definitively, but their result does ring bells across the sport as they won in overtime against the Tigers.
Before Saturday, Florida State hadn’t beaten Clemson since 2015. This is a seismic result at the top of the ACC. It’s Florida State asserting that the LSU game wasn’t just a fluke, and the Boston College closer-than-expected victory was just an aberration. The Seminoles can scratch and claw in a tough road environment and come out on the other side victorious.
To say that it’s dire right now in Death Valley might be an understatement. Clemson hasn’t started 0-2 in ACC play since 2010. It’s another brick taken out of the once firm foundation of the program’s reputation. As unsettling as getting physically dominated by Notre Dame was last year—not to mention losing the Palmetto Bowl to South Carolina—surrendering pole position in the ACC to the Noles proves that something needs to change. The advantages have evaporated, and the high ground has been ceded. Clemson must evolve into whatever Dabo Swinney’s next era in charge is going to look like, and they’d better do it fast to save this season as far as their goals are concerned.
