Will Clemson keep College Football Playoff form against feisty Florida State?

A road win for Clemson over Florida State may indicate a return to the College Football Playoff.

At 6-0, an impressive road win over Florida State in Tallahassee may suggest that the Clemson Tigers will be making a return trip to the College Football Playoff.

The reigning ACC dynasty missed out on it last season for the first time since 2014. Clemson lost a pair of conference games, as well as a non-conference affair to regional rival Georgia to finish the regular season at 9-3. While the Florida State Seminoles are trending up under third-year head coach Mike Norvell, a win on the road in Tallahassee does bode well for Clemson’s playoff chances.

Keep in mind that Clemson already has the head-to-head tiebreaker over ACC Atlantic rivals North Carolina State and Wake Forest.

Clemson can return to College Football Playoff form with win over Florida State

With Clemson being the No. 4 team in the country, the Tigers pretty much control their destiny to make the College Football Playoff. They may have the roster to navigate the ACC to perfection. Even if they were to suffer a regular-season loss, it would be hard to keep them out of the four-team field if the Tigers won the ACC Championship Game for the seventh time in eight seasons.

Although they have a few tough games left on the schedule after the Florida State date, including home vs. undefeated Syracuse next week and at Notre Dame on Nov. 5, you would be hard-pressed to think Clemson is not getting out of the ACC with one or fewer losses on the season. Syracuse may be more than the Tigers bargained for, but thankfully, they will get them at home.

Ultimately, the Tigers cannot afford to overlook rival Florida State at their place, especially with the big Syracuse game coming up the following week. Norvell seems to have found his footing in year three on the job. Not to say everything will change for the better for Florida State with a win over the Tigers, but keep in mind this is a traditional power that will not be down for much longer.

As long as the Tigers take care of business in Tallahassee, they can bank on returning to Charlotte.

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