Florida State has not appeared in the ACC title game over the last four seasons, but the Seminoles' home atmosphere has often approximated that of the conference's championship game.
For those of us who recall all those years in which Doak Campbell Stadium was stuffed to the gills for every game as the Seminoles amassed an astounding stretch of overall dominance, it's still stunning every time you turn on the TV for an FSU home game and are greeted by large, gaping swaths of aluminum.
In Bobby Bowden's last couple of years, I was in the camp that believed all the empty seats underscored the lack of support for the old man as he stubbornly pressed on. Now, in Year 1 under Jimbo Fisher, the trend of no-shows has continued. Maybe going to games is too expensive. Maybe the Seminoles' fan base is too far-flung. Maybe they'll start coming back if and when the team starts winning big again. I don't know what it is, but it's something they need to figure out down there.
Of all the explanations I've heard for why Clemson will not win Saturday in Tallahassee, the one I put the least stock in is the Tigers' history at "The Doak."
Since 1993, Clemson has gone there nine times. Remove the lone victory, a 27-20 win in 2006, and Florida State's average margin in the eight victories is 42-11.
Pure dominance. There's no other way to put it.
But how much does that history really matter? Is it actually relevant to this game? Will the Tigers be intimidated by the mystique of an earlier era given that they were in grade school when that era was unfolding?
From 1987 to 2000, the Seminoles lost a total of three games at home.
Three.
One came to Clemson, a 34-23 throttling in 1989. The other two were one-point defeats to Miami in 1987 and 1991.
And that's it.
Of course, Florida State wasn't losing many games anywhere in those days. The 14-year streak of Top 5 finishes and seasons of at least 10 victories is at the top of Bowden's list of career accomplishments, a run that probably will never be duplicated by anyone.
The Seminoles began to slip in 2001, and Doak Campbell gradually became just another stadium.
Since 2001, Florida State has lost 18 home games. Six of those losses have come by double digits, including that apocalyptic 30-0 shellacking at the hands of Wake Forest in 2006
Seven of the Seminoles' 11 ACC foes have claimed victories there, and four conference teams have claimed multiple victories there.
Miami: 2009, 2007, 2003, 2001
Wake Forest: 2008, 2006
Boston College: 2008, 2006
N.C. State: 2005, 2001
Clemson: 2006
Georgia Tech: 2009
North Carolina: 2010
The remaining ACC teams that haven't won in Tallahassee: Maryland, Duke, Virginia, Virginia Tech.
I guess one could make the argument that, even during their prolonged spell of mediocrity, the Seminoles have still managed to beat the Tigers by double digits in two of their last three meetings with Clemson in Tallahassee (41-27 in 2008, and 41-22 in 2004).
But I tend to believe the far more pertinent intangible in all this is Clemson's dominance of Florida State overall. The Tigers have won four of the last five and five of the last seven. That's a big deal.
There are plenty of legitimate reasons to doubt Clemson's chances in this game. Lack of a running game. Lack of a passing game. Lack of a kicker. Lack of previous road victories this season.
I just don't know that the Tigers' history at the place will make much of a difference when they're playing in front of all that aluminum Saturday night.
On to a few Thursday links...
Looks like Auburn is going All-In with Cam Newton.
This Birmingham columnist sticks to his belief that the mean old media is out to get Sir Cameron, but he backtracks enough to concede this:
Looks like the Auburn family is all in with Cam and Cecil Newton. They'll either rise above the smoke swirling around them, or they'll all go down in flames.
Hey, maybe this nut job was right when he met Auburn's AD at the airport way back when.
Oh, lookie: A few more Auburn nut jobs accosting a reporter who helped break the Newton story.
And we'll close with this classic quote from Steve Spurrier:
Spurrier then shook off a question about how big winning at Florida would be for his team.
“I hope I’m never stupid enough to answer a question like that,” Spurrier said.
Later, a reporter asked Spurrier if it was true – as quarterback Stephen Garcia said – that this game was the biggest in South Carolina history.
“No, that’s not true. Please don’t listen to Stephen all the time when he’s speaking,” Spurrier said.
LW
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