Florida State Football: Why They Should Be Wary of the Clemson Tigers

The Florida State Seminoles spent the entire off season looking forward to their rematch against the Oklahoma Sooners ... and then the Seminoles lost.  Coming off that loss, FSU has to go on the road to face a tough Clemson Tigers squad.  

If Florida State isn't careful, their whole season could be ruined over the course of eight short days.

Jimbo Fisher's boys are two-point underdogs to the Clemson Tigers, and with good reason.  There are plenty of reasons for the Seminoles' faithful to be concerned, and here are four of them.

Uncertain Status of E.J. Manuel

Perhaps bigger than Florida State's actually loss to Oklahoma last weekend was the loss of starting quarterback E.J. Manuel.  Manuel injured his non-throwing shoulder against the Sooners and his status for Saturday's game against Clemson is still unknown.

While backup quarterback Clint Trickett performed admirably in relief of Manuel, he also showed his lack of experience.  Furthermore, there is a reason E.J. Manuel is the starter in Tallahassee.  As good as Trickett may have looked in limited action this season, there is no doubt in my mind that Manuel is better.

If E.J. Manuel cannot play against Clemson, the Seminoles could be in trouble, especially considering Manuel is also the leading rusher on a team that has struggled to get its ground game going.

Clemson Is Riding High

First of all, let me say that I don't think the Auburn Tigers are a very good football team.  Despite this belief, Clemson's victory over Auburn last weekend was still a huge win for Dabo Swinney's team.

Auburn possessed the nation's longest winning streak heading into the battle of the two Tigers, and Auburn seemed as though they had forgotten how to lose.  However, after falling behind early, Clemson was able to fight its way back and knock off the defending national champions in convincing fashion.

Understandably, Clemson was riding high after their victory and will likely still be feeling good heading into their game against Florida State.  This doesn't bode well for the Seminoles as it can be tough to beat a team on a roll.

Clemson's Home Field Advantage

Heading into Death Valley to play a football game may be one of the least appealing prospects for a team coming off of a difficult loss.  That is the prize the Florida State Seminoles received on their schedule, though.

Clemson's home field is always a pretty hostile environment, but for some reason the Tiger faithful seem to get a little more amped up when the Seminoles come to town.  You have to imagine with the Seminoles a bit wounded after last week's loss to Oklahoma, Clemson and their fans will be smelling blood.

It does not help the situation at all that this is Florida State's first road game of the season.  The Seminoles will have to show some incredible mental toughness to overcome these factors.

Tajh Boyd

It looks like the Clemson Tigers have found themselves quite the quarterback in sophomore Tajh Boyd. Through three games this season, Boyd has thrown for over 900 yards with 10 touchdowns and just one interception.  

Boyd is also completing better than 67 percent of his passes.

Florida State showed its defensive prowess by keeping Landry Jones and the explosive Oklahoma offensive under wraps for the most part.  The question will be whether or not they can duplicate that type of performance again this week.

If the Seminoles "D" doesn't bring their "A" game, Tajh Boyd could have a career day.