Will Florida State and Miami finally meet for the ACC Championship in 2015?

Florida State

Florida State is coming into the 2015 season as the three-time defending ACC champs, having narrowly escaped Georgia Tech in last season’s game to secure their spot in the College Football Playoff. However, they did incur some heavy losses to the NFL, most notably the likes of Heisman-winning quarterback Jameis Winston, all-time leading receiver Rashad Greene, cornerback P.J. Williams and defensive end Mario Edwards Jr., among others. In all, 11 players headed off to the professional ranks.

But as we’ve seen throughout recent years, Florida State has dominated on the recruiting trail and this team is still stacked with top-notch talent, led by maybe the best defensive back in the entire nation, Jalen Ramsey. Should legal troubles allude sophomore running back Dalvin Cook, then the Seminoles also have one of the top rushers in the country as well.

Then there’s the issue of replacing Winston, although that seems to have been cleared up with the recent acquisition of Notre Dame transfer Everett Golson. Despite opening up third on the depth chart, not many people doubt that Golson will be under center when the season begins in September.

The biggest roadblock that the ‘Noles have on the way to Charlotte is none other than the Clemson Tigers. In the recent ACC Media poll, Clemson was actually chosen ahead of the Seminoles as eventual ACC Atlantic Division champions. With sophomore quarterback DeShaun Watson looking ready to make a potential Heisman push and coming off their 40-6 drubbing of Oklahoma in the bowl game, this team is looking for nothing more to start than to end the three-year losing streak to Florida State.

Looking at the entirety of the ACC Atlantic Division in 2015, it’s looking yet again like if Florida State wants to save a date in Charlotte, they’ll have to take care of the Tigers on No. 7 — in Death Valley.

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