As Florida State found out last season, replacing a successful veteran quarterback isn’t always impossible. Freshman Jameis Winston led the Seminoles to their third national championship and in the process, won the Heisman Trophy after replacing first round pick, E.J. Manuel, who went 25-6 as a starter in his Florida State career.
For Clemson this season, the Tigers have are having to replace a three-year starter in Tajh Boyd. Boyd led Clemson to its only BCS bowl victory a season ago and finished his career as the ACC’s all-time leader in touchdown passes.
While Winston was able to go above and beyond what was expected of him as a freshman, Clemson has taken the approach of using two quarterbacks to replace Boyd. Some buy into the notion that playing two quarterbacks is rarely a good thing for an offense, but for the Florida State defense on Saturday, it will present a new challenge.
Senior Cole Stoudt is the program veteran, who has waited his turn to take snaps for the Tigers and will likely start the game in Tallahassee. Meanwhile, freshman Deshaun Watson’s hot start has Clemson fans looking forward to a bright future.
Neither Stoudt nor Watson are bad athletes, but Watson is much more physically gifted. In fewer snaps, Watson has also put up better numbers as a passer and has been more inclined to take shots down the field than the senior Stoudt, who is more of a game manager type.
In mop-up duty against the Seminoles last season, Stoudt led a late touchdown drive against Florida State’s second team defense in a 51-14 FSU victory. Stoudt has been very poised this season and has thrown just two interceptions in 179 career pass attempts. But while Stoudt is the veteran under center for the Tigers, Watson may have the best chance to make plays against the Seminole defense on Saturday.
Though Watson is just a freshman, there may be little cause for concern among the Clemson faithful as to how he’ll handle a hostile Doak Campbell Stadium crowd on Saturday. In the season-opener against Georgia in Sanford Stadium, Watson led a touchdown drive on his first series as Clemson went to the half even with Georgia.
With a short sample size in 2014, Florida State did have some trouble against Oklahoma State’s J.W. Walsh. Walsh was able to use his arms and legs to keep the Florida State defense off balance and the Cowboys in the ball game.
Like Walsh, Stoudt is an experienced veteran. Watson however, has the athleticism to make and extend plays against a very fast Florida State defense.
Whether it’s Stoudt or Watson that the Seminoles see most on Saturday, Florida State has to be more effective when it comes to rushing the passer. FSU was much better its last time out against The Citadel’s option offense, but in the season-opener against Oklahoma State, the Seminoles failed to register a sack.
Florida State defensive tackle Eddie Goldman practiced with the team on Monday after going down with a knee injury in FSU’s home opener and the Seminoles are expected to have one of their best blitzing linebackers return in Ukeme Eligwe. Defensive end Chris Casher will also get his first action against a FBS team this season.
Sammy Watkins and Martavis Bryant may not be at the disposal of Stoudt and Watson on Saturday, but young speedsters in freshman Artavis Scott and sophomore Mike Williams are each averaging better than 24 yards-per-catch. Despite a young corps of pass-catchers, Saturday’s contest won’t be a cake-walk for a FSU secondary that led the nation in interceptions last season.
While going into Tallahassee and coming out with a victory for the first time since 2006 will be no small task for Clemson, playing two quarterbacks presents a unique challenge for the Florida State defense. With what’s still a relatively young defense, facing and preparing for two very capable passers is something that this group of FSU defenders has never had to do.
With two weeks to prepare, Charles Kelly’s defense has had a lot to shore up, but the Seminoles have had plenty of time to be well prepared for Clemson’s usually potent offense. With an extra week to get ready for the Tigers last season, Florida State’s 51-14 victory at Death Valley asserted itself as a true national championship contender. After starting the year with two lackluster performances, FSU is hoping Saturday’s contest against #22 Clemson has similar results.
