Florida State vs Clemson Odds: Seminoles Slight Road Favorites

The No. 4 Florida State Seminoles visit the Clemson Tigers for an ACC showdown Saturday. Florida State could be guilty of looking ahead to this one a bit in their 31-29 win over Boston College. The Seminoles were favored by 25.5 points. FSU did lead 31-10 in the second half before the Eagles stormed back to make a game of it.

After being thumped by Duke in its opener, Clemson has routed a pair of weak foes in Charleston Southern and Florida Atlantic. The 48-14 win over FAU was Clemson’s first point spread cover of the season. The Florida State vs Clemson odds have the Seminoles favored by 1.5 points and the total on the game is 55.

Seminoles in Rare Road Favorite Role at Clemson

This is just the second time Florida State has been favored at Clemson since 2008. The Seminoles easily won in 2013, winning 55-14 as 5-point favorites. FSU lost the three previous games as a road favorite at Clemson outright.

Last season was the first time the Seminoles were favored on the road since 2018. FSU was 3-0 straight-up and against the spread as a road favorite last season.

Bettors could be down a little bit on Florida State after the close call with Boston College. The poll voters certainly were, as FSU fell from No. 3 to No. 4 in the NCAA football rankings. But the Seminoles can be forgiven a little bit with Clemson looming on deck.

After all, this game has been billed as the one for the ACC regular season title. Jordan Travis didn’t have his best game for the Seminoles, who were outgained 457-340. But the Eagles committed 18 penalties for 131 yards and missed an extra point, which turned out to be huge.

Don’t Count Out Clemson

Some were quick to write off Clemson after it dropped its opener 28-7 to the Duke Blue Devils. But as is often the case, the final score isn’t really indicative of how the game was played. Clemson had a 422-374 yardage advantage, a 29-17 first down edge and had the ball for more than 33 minutes.

Two blocked field goal field goal attempts and a fumble at the Duke 10 didn’t help the Clemson cause. Had the Tigers played cleanly, there’s still no guarantee they would have won. But the final score would certainly have been much closer.

Clemson is running the ball well. The Tigers’ top three rushers are all averaging more than 6.0 yards per carry. Clemson is averaging 216 yards per game on the ground. Cade Klubnik has played decent at quarterback.

The Tigers could have used a bit more from him against Duke. But he was far from being the reason the Tigers ended up on the wrong side of the college football scores in that one.

Defensively, Clemson hasn’t played all that badly. But due to the level of competition, the Tigers are still a bit of an unknown quantity on the defensive side of the ball. The stats aren’t bad. But you have to look at the teams that are responsible for them.

What to Expect

The Seminoles have to come out and let Travis do his thing. It might not be easy against a Clemson team allowing 4.8 yards per pass attempt, which is No. 6 in the country. The Tigers are allowing 4.3 yards per rush, so the Seminoles may want to run the ball a bit.

The Seminoles have run the ball well, averaging 223 yards per game. FSU runs for 5.4 yards per rush and the running game and Travis complement each other.

The Seminoles’ defense is also a bit of a question mark. The Seminoles allowed 24 points to LSU and 29 to Boston College. They did hold Southern Miss to 13, but the Golden Eagles just scored 3 against Tulane last week.

The Seminoles are holding teams to 3.8 yards per rush, but are allowing 7.7 yards per pass. Klubnik could be busy throwing the football.

But the Tigers are going to want to run the ball, which is what they do best. Will Shipley is solid in the backfield and Clemson has other players who can tote the ball. It will come down to Clemson’s offensive line against the Florida State’s front seven.

Who to Bet On?

The Florida State vs Clemson odds of Florida State -1.5 is justified considering how the teams have played so far this season. This is the first time the Tigers have been a home underdog since 2016. While part of that has to do with the Tigers fielding a decent team, it also has to do with Clemson usually being the top team in the ACC.

The Florida State vs Clemson odds of 55 on the total is a bit more interesting. At first glance, the over seems like the way to go here. Especially when you consider the series is 10-5-1 to the over the last 16 meetings. But the Seminoles are 6-12-1 in totals when the number is 55 or higher since 2020. The Tigers are 9-9.

During the summer, Clemson was -1 on the look-ahead lines, so there’s a little bit of value in taking the Tigers. Some might grab Clemson +7.5 in a teaser. But value-wise, the under 55 is likely the top choice for best college football bets in this game.

For NCAAF betting news, odds analysis, and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.

Want more articles like this? Check these out:

• Georgia Tech vs Mississippi Preview: DC Pete Golding Has Changed The Ole Miss Defense
• Wyoming vs Texas Odds: Longhorns Are Huge Favorites
• Florida State vs Boston College Odds: Travis Keeps Climbing Heisman Board
• Alabama vs South Florida Odds: Tide Looks to Rebound
• CFB: (10) Washington vs Michigan State Odds