Kirk Herbstreit explains how Clemson upset boosts Florida State's spirits

Coming out of Week 1’s action it would be easy to overreact. Florida State played a terrific game in beating LSU, while Duke managed to top Clemson.

And while he doesn’t want to overreact, ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit thinks both of those games were pretty meaningful in the overall ACC picture.

“I try to really reserve judgment until we see these teams play for two or three weeks,” Herbstreit said. “I’ve learned the hard way going way back to when I first started, you see a team play once and you’re like, ‘Oh my gosh, this is who they are.’ And then three weeks later, they’re a completely different team. So trying to keep that in mind.”

Still, he can’t ignore what he saw in that Florida State vs. LSU game.

“This team played with a chip on their shoulder,” Herbstreit said. “I expect them to play like that. It’s going to be one of these teams that achieves a big win and it’s not enough. … They’re on to the next game. I think there’s enough guys that have been in misery there that they’re not going to get caught up in the fanfare and some of the hoopla that’ll surround them.”

There’s little doubt at this point that Florida State has the talent to be an ACC champion.

There’s a veteran starting quarterback in Jordan Travis, plus there’s the plethora of options he has at his disposal at the skill positions. There’s running back Trey Benson, receivers Keon Coleman and Johnny Wilson, and tight end Jaheim Bell.

Then you flip over to the defensive side of the ball and there are dudes everywhere, with edge rusher Jared Verse leading the charge.

Moreover, with Clemson losing there’s an added lift for Florida State. The belief factor has increased even more.

“And then looking at Clemson, there’s a program that’s trying to kind of figure things out,” Herbstreit said. “And of course they play them in a few weeks in Death Valley. So that was the one question. If Clemson played great against Duke and they were humming, then you’d wonder about that game.

“But just looking at those two teams, Florida State’s got to feel pretty good about themselves as they look right now in the ACC. So I’m excited to see what they can do the rest of the year.”