FSU head coach says Tigers are going to get Noles' best game |
Florida State head coach Mike Norvell is confident his team will play its best game against Clemson on Saturday.
The Tigers and ‘Noles kick it off Saturday at noon in Death Valley on ABC. Sean McDonough (play-by-play), Greg McElroy (analyst), and Molly McGrath (sideline reporter) will call the television broadcast. Norvell said Clemson is going to get FSU’s best shot. “We know they're a talented football team, and it will be a great atmosphere. It's going to be a great, exciting game to be able to play in. You've got to prepare like that,” Norvell said. “It was the same expectations of how we needed to prepare last week and how you have to play for 60 minutes. But you learn from each experience, and you build towards what's ahead. But I don't think there's going to be a whole lot of motivational talks needed, but I'm sure going to give them because I just want our guys better than they've ever been. “That's the opportunity that we'll be able to sit here 3:30, 3:45 on Saturday and know whether we accomplished that or we didn't. If that's the case, I've got a lot of confidence in what we'll be able to do, and I'll be able to live with whatever the result is. But we're going to play our best game. That's what I want to see. I believe in this team. I believe in who I coach. I believe in the coaches that we have. So I'm excited about this week of preparation and really looking forward to them capitalizing on the moment.” Norvell said new offensive coordinator Garrett Riley and running back Will Shipley are difference makers. “It's a talented team. You look at their offense, you've got a new offensive coordinator, really sharp, knows how to put his guys in position to make plays,” Norvell said. “The versatility of Shipley is what makes him special. He can catch the ball. He can run the ball. He's tough. He's physical. We've seen him firsthand the last couple of years, really been an X factor in our game. So we know that we're going to have to gear up. We've got to control him. “The other back, Phil (Mafah), he is really talented as well. Big, strong, tough-nosed running back, but if they get in the open field, they've got the speed to take it the distance. They're an experienced offensive line. Cade (Klubnik) is a really talented quarterback. He can locate the ball. He can make every throw. He's probably more athletic than people give him credit for, just what he can do, just extending plays, being able to move. You can see the growth in the receiving corps.” Clemson didn’t play well at Duke, and then Klubnik didn’t play well early in the home opener against Charleston Southern, but Norvell said the Tigers have played well since then. “It's going to be a great challenge for us. Obviously, you look at some of the early, probably the first six quarters of the season, they had some uncharacteristic turnovers,” he said. “I think they turned the ball over three times within the 10-yard line or coming out with no points in those situations, had an early turnover in the first quarter. I think he threw a pick-six. “Then since that, the last six quarters of football, they played at a very high level. So you could see that all that -- kind of coming into play for them. So it's going to be a great challenge, but I know our guys are excited about it and looking forward to a wonderful week of work and get a chance to go play there on Saturday.” In the end, however, Norvell said it’s about how FSU plays. “I just want to see us go play our best game. It is a standard expectation, but if you don't -- everybody knows this is a big game,” he said. “You've got a team that the last however many years has pretty much led the ACC in how they've played and what they've done. “But I'm not sitting here just talking about Clemson. I mean, it's about us. It's about how we play, what we're able to do and how we're able to execute.”
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