The Eight Keys to Seminole Victory

When Johnathan first asked me to write about this week's showdown between Florida State and Clemson, my first reaction was to write about how we could get blown out. As the week progressed, I became more and more confident in the Noles to pull off the upset. On Tuesday when Clemson became #1 in the first edition of the College Football Standings, I felt more confident as it is extremely difficult to be the number one team in the nation. Also seeing FSU as 12.5 point underdogs was even more ammo for the Noles to get up for the biggest game on their schedule. The icing on the cake was when Clemson defensive end, Shaq Lawson, said, " We're going to show Dalvin Cook why he should have come to Clemson." LOL. For once, Florida State has no pressure and Clemson has all the pressure of proving they are the number one team. Understand that Clemson has the talent to blow us out of the water, not mention they have the motivation to beat us as they have not done it the past three years. Florida State will have to play their best game of the year and have a couple bounces go their way to beat Clemson. Here are the eight keys to a Florida State victory over Clemson.

1. Jump on Clemson Early

Death Valley will be rocking post petting of the "Rock," and Florida State will need to silence them early. If Jimbo Fisher's offense gets the ball first they have to go down the field and put seven on the board, take the energy out of the place. I believe Jimbo will have a few tricks up his sleeve as our offense has been very vanilla all year long. As for the defense, we need to force a three and out or at least not allow Clemson to score on their first drive. I would love to send Jalen Ramsey or Derwin James at Deshaun Watson on a blitz on the first third down of the game and make their presence known. For Florida State to win this ball game they will need to come out ready to play from kickoff.

2. Get Dalvin Cook the Ball

Okay, I know this one seems a little obvious, but just to make it clear Dalvin Cook will need 25 to 30 touches for Florida State to win this game. Key word, touches, as I believe we need to take advantage of Cook's ability to catch the ball out of the backfield. If Dalvin has over 150 yards and two touchdowns I like our chances to pull off the upset. Another reason Dalvin needs to touch the ball as much as possible is because it will be raining in Death Valley Saturday and I believe that works in Florida State's favor as they have one of the most elusive running backs in the nation. With the emergence of Jacques Patrick, look for Dalvin to possible take advantage of a banged up defense after they tackle the freshman a couple of times. I believe Dalvin re-enters his name in the Heisman race after the game tomorrow.

3. Stretch Clemson's Defense Vertically Down the Field

Florida State has struggled in the passing game all year, especially when it comes to taking the top off a defense. Some of that is attributed to the offensive line, some to the receivers and their inability to separate from cornerbacks, and some on the quarterback for missing them when they are open. Last week, Sean Maguire displayed the deep ball, granted against a pourus Syracuse defense but at least we were completed passes down the field. Travis Rudolph finally showed up last week, I attribute this towards the extreme criticism that Johnathan threw his way. As for Clemson, dalvin will need help and the best way to make sure Clemson does not stack the box is to complete passes down the field. No matter who the quarterback is tomorrow, we will need the receivers to go up and get the ball on Saturday. Look for the emergence of Ermon Lane, Pigg Harrison, or George Campbell to provide this deep threat. If Maguire starts, I think we could see an out of nowhere appearance from Pigg Harrison as these two showed great chemistry in the Spring Game ( 5 receptions, 94 yards). One of our receivers will have to step up if we want to silence the Clemson fans and their overalls.

4. Make Deshaun Watson Uncomfortable

In my opinion, Deshaun Watson has been disrespected by the national media as he has not received the attention he deserves. The biggest reason Clemson is undefeated is Mr. Watson and of late he has been flat out dominant (Season Stats: 70.3% completion percentage, 1936 yds, and 24 TDs). Florida State is not going to shut down Watson. He is too dynamic of a player. What the Noles' defense can do is make him uncomfortable. We will need big games from Jalen Ramsey, Derwin James, Demarcus Walker, Derrick Nnadi, and Niles Lawrence-Stample. The defensive lineman in particular will have to disrupt Watson. We do not necessarily need big sack numbers we just need pressure to force Watson to make a throw he does not want to make. If Clemson is to win the game, I believe it will be due to the fact that Deshaun Watson solidified his Heisman campaign.

5. Win the Turnover Battle

This stat always has a huge impact on the outcome of a game, but with a rain soaked field turnovers will play an even bigger role. Clemson has turned the ball over 14 times this year ( six fumbles and eight interceptions), while FSU has only turned it over twice this year. Florida State will have to take care of the ball and force turnovers to win this game. If Florida State turns the ball over more than twice, it will be near impossible for the Noles to win. Look for Jalen Ramsey and the defense to create some havoc on a rainy Saturday and possibly be the difference in the game.

6. Capitalize in the Red Zone

We were so spoiled with Jameis Winston, as #5 excelled in the red zone. Granted, when you have Kelvin Benjamin for one year and Rashad Greene and Nick O'Leary for two scoring touchdowns in the red zone seems to be pretty easy. This year's Noles have struggled mightily in the red zone. We have been in the red zone 29 times this year and have only come away with 15 touchdowns and 11 field goals. While we have consistently put points on the board in the red zone, we need to finish off drives with touchdowns more consistently. Our ineffiencies in the red zone have reared their head in the Miami and Georgia Tech game. In the Miami game, we struggled to score touchdowns and as a result we found ourselves having to score a touchdown late to win the game late. As for Georgia Tech, we had four red zone opportunities and came away with 13 points. If you want to be an elite team, you have to score a touchdown on close to 75% of your red zone trips. Our ineffiency in the red zone cost us the game against Georgia Tech, as we allowed them to hang around and win on a miracle play. If we plan on beating Clemson, we will have to score touchdowns and not settle for field goals.

7. Score a Defensive or Special Teams Touchdown

As I adressed right above, we struggle to score in the red zone, therefore we will need a touchdown from our defense or special teams. Defensively, I would love to see Jalen Ramsey have a pick 6, as I believe his celebration may be legendary. Same goes for Derwin James, if he were to score a touchdown it will just add another story to his budding legacy. More than likely, I see a special teams touchdown more likely simply due to Kermit Whitfield. One of the fastest players in the country is going to take one back to the house soon as he is one of the most explosive players in the nation. He's returned a kick for a touchdown in a big game before, and I look for him to add another one against Clemson. If we can get a defensive or special teams touchdown, I believe our chances of the upset increase dramatically.

8. Play Aggressive

If you do not think that Jimbo Fisher is a conservative coach then you live under a rock. Do not get me wrong Jimbo is one of the best coaches in college football, but I would like to see him be more aggressive at times and put teams away. Anyways, Florida State needs to be aggressive for 60 minutes against Clemson. From kickoff to the victory formation (hopefully). What is important is even with a lead the Noles need to stay aggressive and look to stomp on the Tigers throat. Up seven or down seven the Noles and Jimbo Fisher need to be aggressive in order to pull off the upset.

Honestly, it is going to be difficult to beat Clemson, but we have the talent to do it. The Noles have been disrespected all week, nobody is giving us a chance and that is why I believe we will win. For once, the chip is on our shoulder and the opponent has all the pressure. Am I biased? yes. But I have the Noles beating Clemson 34-31.