Dabo Swinney remarks FSU's rise good for the ACC, not sure if good for Clemson

Expectations are as high for Florida State as they have been in years entering the 2023 college football season. The Seminoles are coming off a 10-3 season in Year 3 under Mike Norvell and return plenty of talent on both sides of the ball.

Clemson and FSU are viewed as the clear top two teams in the ACC heading into the season, after the Tigers held that distinction by themselves for the better part of the last decade.

Clemson coach Dabo Swinney spoke about what the rise of Florida State means for the Tigers and the ACC at the 2023 Football Kickoff event last week.

“I mean, I don’t know if it’s good for Clemson. It’s definitely good for the ACC, having as many good teams as we can have,” Swinney said.

Clemson has won the ACC in seven of the past eight years, while FSU hasn’t won the league since 2014. However, that could change in 2023.

Florida State has steadily gotten better and better since Norvell took over, going from 3-6 to 5-7 to 10-3. This should be far-and-away the most talented roster the Seminoles have had under Norvell as they return quarterback Jordan Travis, running back Trey Benson, receiver Johnny Wilson, defensive end Jared Verse and plenty of other talented players. FSU also added receiver Keon Coleman, tight end Jaheim Bell and other potential difference makers out of the transfer portal.

“Man, Mike’s done an amazing job. He really has,” Swinney said. “They’ve done a great job. And you can kind of see it coming. They’ve made steady progress. Done a great job in putting their roster together. I think they’ve really tried to build their roster since he got there.”

Clemson has won two national titles and reached the College Football Playoff six times in the past eight years as no one has been able to challenge the Tigers in the ACC.

In addition to Florida State, Swinney believes there are other coaches and teams on the rise in the conference.

“Man, there’s a lot of great coaches, a lot of great players in this league. It’s a talented league from top to bottom. There’s no disputing it,” Swinney said. “I know people don’t want to talk about that. The NFL comes to our league second most — all the way back to ’05. The quarterbacks, etc. So there’s a lot of great players and a lot of great coaches that I don’t think necessarily get the recognition they deserve. But I don’t think anybody would say that it’s a bad thing if you have a bunch of good teams in the league.”