Nobody knows which FSU or Clemson team will show up Saturday night when the two teams square off in primetime on the ACC Network. However, if the FSU offense shows up early and often, that’ll likely be the key to winning the game.
There are several reasons we believe that’s the case. Clemson looks to be a fragile team, especially on defense. Any pressure FSU can put on Cade Klubnik to play hero ball is a good thing, because he’s likely to provide opportunities to get a turnover.
An early lead would likely silence Clemson fans and provide confidence to FSU overall. FSU’s defense has gotten some stops early in games, and the FSU offense has failed to take advantage. They forced punts in Virginia’s first two possessions, and the FSU offense failed to capitalize and instead turned it over twice.
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They forced a punt on Miami’s first offensive possession after FSU had already kicked a field goal, but the offense wasted the opportunity to go up 10-0.
For whatever reason, the FSU defense tends to feed off the FSU offense. FSU playing with a lead tends to look different. The defense has its warts, but it seems to give more effort and play with more physicality when the offense shows up.
The guys in the desert believe the game will be high-scoring, and we expect Clemson to have some semblance of pride because it's FSU coming to town. If FSU can get an early lead similar to how Duke did last week? We suspect the boos from the stands will get rain down and there's a good chance that team will quit on Dabo Swinney.