Three Offensive Players to Watch for Clemson Tigers vs. Florida State Seminoles

Here are the three offensive players that could help either Clemson or Florida State win Saturday’s ACC contest.

Sep 21, 2024; Clemson, South Carolina, USA; Clemson Tigers quarterback Cade Klubnik (2) waves to the crowd after running in for a touchdown against the North Carolina State Wolfpack at Memorial Stadium. / Ken Ruinard-Imagn Images

The No. 15 Clemson Tigers face their first true road game of the season when they head to Tallahassee, Fla., to face the Florida State Seminoles on Saturday night.

It doesn’t matter that the Seminoles (1-4, 1-3 in ACC) are banged up and plan to start a quarterback who is making just his third career start. It’s FSU vs. Clemson in Tallahassee at night. That rivalry game always has a mind of its own. When there were divisions in the ACC, this game usually meant the winner was heading for the conference title game.

Now, the two teams are heading in two different directions in an ACC with no divisions. Clemson (3-1, 2-0) has won three straight games since its season-opening loss and has looked good in all three victories. Frankly, the Tigers are one horrible half of football away from being potentially undefeated.  

Here are three offensive players to watch for each team going into Saturday’s contest.

Clemson

WR T.J. Moore

Clemson coach Dabo Swinney had two things to say about Moore earlier this week. First, the coaches are helping him correct some things in his route running as bad habits from high school are creeping in. Second, he said, the Tigers are building a “monster” in the young wide receiver.

The freshman from Tampa Catholic is certainly making an early impact. While he’s only caught six passes and fellow freshman Bryant Wesco is ahead of him in the pecking order, Swinney believes it is only a matter of time before Moore catches up.

QB Cade Klubnik

Amid all the hand-wringing over that opening game, Klubnik is on a pace to put last year’s numbers in the dust.

Last season he finished with 2,844 yards passing with 19 touchdowns, nine interceptions and a 63.9 completion percentage.

In four games he has thrown for 984 yards with 12 touchdowns, two interceptions and a 66.4 completion percentage.

He’s on a pace, including his rushing, to be a prime candidate for ACC Player of the Year.

LG Marcus Tate

Interior linemen like Tate are part of the reason Klubnik is having the kind of season he’s having on the ground. It’s also part of the reason running back Phil Mafah can be such an effective runner out the backfield.

The senior has played in more than 30 games in his collegiate career and this might be the year he finally gets an All-ACC nod.

Florida State

QB Brock Glenn

With DJ Uiagalelei out for the foreseeable future, the job is Glenn’s now. He was Jordan Travis’s backup a season ago and started the Seminoles’ ACC title game win and piloted their bowl game loss to Georgia.

This won’t be easy. The Seminoles are trading in a player with more than 10,000 total yards for one that failed to complete a pass in four attempts in mop-up duty against SMU last week. He isn’t an unknown quantity, but no one knows what he truly brings to the table yet. Saturday gives him a chance to show it.

RB Lawrance Toafili

The Seminoles have been awful running the football this year. But Taofili is the only back with more than 100 yards through five games (214 yards on 45 carries) and has a respectable 4.8 yards per carry. With the QB situation, he’s going to get a lot of work on Saturday.

Last year he rushed for 463 yards and four touchdowns, added 21 receptions for 186 yards and one touchdown and was the ACC Championship Game MVP after rushing for career-high 118 yards. He’s capable of leading the charge.

WRs Ja'Khi Douglas and Malik Benson

Why both? Because each has 15 receptions this season and Glenn will need all the help he can get. Douglas is racking up the yardage, leading the team with 285 yards and has a touchdown. He’s averaging nearly 20 yards per reception.

Benson is bound to get more use at some point. He’s only caught three passes in the last two games but had five receptions for 99 yards against Memphis. FSU needs more of that on Saturday.