This line raised some eyebrows, when the Seminoles opened as 3-point road favorites over an undefeated Clemson team in a virtual BCS title elimination game.
The Tigers have covered the spread in eight of the last 10 meetings with Florida State and have won 17 of their last 18 home games. Senior quarterback Tajh Boyd is playing as well or better than almost any quarterback in the nation – any quarterback not named Jameis Winston.
Winston, the Seminoles’ electric redshirt freshman quarterback, has exceeded expectations, leading Florida State to a 5-0 start. The Seminoles are also 4-1 against the spread, but their strength of schedule has not been as tough as Clemson’s.
The Tigers opened the season with a win over Georgia. Florida State is coming off of a bye week. Clemson has been a home underdogs just 10 times in 10 years and they are 7-3 ATS in this role.
They battle the Seminoles, currently with a 5-0 mark (4-1 ATS). The over under records, important for totals bettors, are 3-3 for the Tigers and 5-0 for the Seminoles.
View Florida State Seminoles vs Clemson Tigers Odds and Stats.
Several shops tracked by OddsShark (including Sportsbook) set the point spread at 3 in favor of the home side. NCAA football bettors saw the total open at 66 over at Sportsbook..
The OddsShark Power Rankings have the Tigers at No. 6 and the Seminoles at No. 1 heading into this contest. Handicapping models project a 42-29 result in favor of the Seminoles.
Tajh Boyd led his team to victory last time out, throwing for 334 yards Saturday as the Tigers downed the Eagles 24-14 at Memorial Stadium.
How They Match Up:
The game also pits Clemson's No. 17-ranked offense, averaging 40.83 PPG, against a Seminoles defense that ranks No. 3 this week at 12 PPG. The Tigers aerial game is averaging 342 yards per game, more than the Seminoles secondary allows through the air, 149 YPG per game.
In comparing defenses, the Seminoles own the league's No. 41-rated front 7 in terms of stopping the run, allowing 148 yards per game when on the road. Clemson, on the other hand, rates No. 70 this week in generating rushing yards at home.
A few Seminoles at Tigers trends to consider:
Florida State is 6-2 ATS in its last 8 games
Florida State is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Florida State's last 8 games
Florida State is 1-7 ATS in its last 8 games on the road
Clemson is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Clemson's last 6 games
Clemson is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games at home
Clemson is 10-1 SU in its last 11 games at home
Next up:
Florida State at North Carolina State, Saturday, October 26th
Clemson at Maryland, Saturday, October 26th
