Tigers holding onto to hope

By: Roy Philpott
CUTigers.com
November 12, 2010

Fresh off of their 14-13 win over N.C. State, the Clemson Tigers hit the road this weekend to face a familiar rival in the Florida State Seminoles. And somewhat surprisingly, the Tigers find themselves right back in the thick of the Atlantic Division race after last weekend's win and FSU's stunning loss to North Carolina.

Clemson has to beat the 'Noles and Wake Forest the following weekend, while N.C. State and Maryland each have to lose one more time in conference play in order for the Tigers to repeat as Atlantic Division champions.

Can it happen? Sure.

Will it happen? In a league as up-and-down as the ACC, anything is possible, but the Tigers are going to have to learn how to finish the job on the road to do it.

"We have not done that," Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said this week. "We are winless on the road and that's the most frustrating thing we have to deal with. We've been in every game in the fourth quarter. We need a complete, smooth game on the road."

Stopping FSU's powerful offense will be priority No. 1 Saturday night at Doak Campbell Stadium.

Florida State leads the ACC in scoring coming into Saturday's game, but Clemson is tops in the league in keeping opponents out of the end zone, giving up just 17.56 points per game.

Offensively, the Tigers have to find a way to attack what has proven to be a vulnerable Seminoles secondary, while protecting QB Kyle Parker from the nation's top pass rushing unit.

Kickoff Saturday night is set for 8:12 PM in Tallahassee.