How can FSU football end its Death Valley losing streak? What past Clemson games tell us

Recent history has favored Clemson over Florida State football.

The Tigers have won seven straight (2015-22) in the series over the Seminoles, including a 34-28 victory for Clemson last year at Doak Campbell Stadium. Florida State leads the series 20-15.

The last win for FSU in the series came in 2014, a 23-17 victory, in Tallahassee, led by Sean Maguire with Jameis Winston serving a suspension.

Winston led the Seminoles to a 51-14 tromping of the Tigers in 2013 en route to a National Championship, in the last time the program won on the road against Clemson.

No. 4 FSU (3-0, 1-0 ACC) has a chance to buck the recent trend with the matchup against the unranked Tigers (2-1, 0-1) for the first time in nearly a decade at noon Saturday at Memorial Stadium in Clemson, South Carolina. (Broadcast: ABC)

FSU head coach Mike Norvell has led FSU to nine straight victories dating back to last season and the team enters as two-point favorites over the Tigers, per Bet Online, betting sides, as of Thursday morning.

A Seminoles' victory Saturday would solidify them as the ACC favorite and a College Football Playoff contender.

Here's a look at what has gone wrong for FSU in its recent trips to Death Valley and how the Seminoles can reverse the trend.

2021: Will Shipley scores late to clinch 30-20 Clemson victory

This game was closer than the final score implies as Barrett Carter recovered a fumble in the end zone after FSU's unsuccessful hook-and-ladder try on the final play of the game.

Running back Will Shipley scored a 21-yard touchdown with 2:53 left in the game to give the Tigers the lead for good.

In the back-and-forth contest, the Seminoles held three leads. The first came after Jashaun Corbin caught a one-yard TD pass from Jordan Travis to make it 6-3 in the first. A 75-yard touchdown pass from Travis to Lawrance Toafili put FSU up 13-10 early in the second quarter.

A Shipley TD with 3:41 left in the first half gave Clemson a halftime lead. Jermaine Johnson II returned a fumble for a TD to give FSU the lead with 7:39 left.

Travis completed 14 of 22 passes for 176 yards and two scores in the loss. The Seminoles rushed 34 times for just 65 yards, with the Tigers racking up six sacks.

Clemson preview: FSU football looks to avoid another 100+ rushing yard game from Clemson RB Will Shipley

2019: Trevor Lawrence shines with 4 TD game in 45-14 Clemson win

Behind a great performance from future No. 1 overall pick Trevor Lawrence, the Tigers jumped out to a 42-0 lead before the Seminoles scored their first touchdown on a 64-yard pass from Alex Hornibrook to Tamorrion Terry. There was 2:02 left in the third quarter at that point.

Lawrence hit Travis Etienne for a touchdown pass in the first quarter, ran in for a score and had a pair of touchdown passes to Justyn Ross in the second quarter to build a 28-0 lead.

The Seminoles struggled offensively with just 10 first downs and were 2 for 13 on third downs. James Blackman earned the start at QB for the Seminoles and threw two picks. His night ended when Derion Kendrick picked off a pass and returned it for a TD to make the score 42-0. On the next drive, running back Cam Akers fumbled the ball away.

Clemson out-gained FSU 552-253 and held the ball for nearly 40 minutes of the 60-minute game.

2017: Travis Etienne, Clemson run away late with a 31-14 victory

The Seminoles do deserve some credit in this one, trailing 17-0 at halftime, they mounted a comeback and trailed by just three points with 8:53 left in the fourth quarter after Blackman hit Ryan Izzo for a 60-yard touchdown.

However, old nemesis Etienne scored with one yard out with 3:05 left to put the Tigers up 10 and a late score by Adam Choice gave Clemson the victory by the same margin it led by at halftime.

Etienne finished with 14 rushes for 97 yards and two touchdowns, while FSU star running back Akers was limited to 12 carries for 40 yards. The Seminoles finished with 24 rushes for 21 yards rushing (including the five sacks).

FSU also turned the ball over twice, dropping the program to 3-6 at the time, as it clinched its first losing ACC record since 2006. Clemson, meanwhile clinched its third straight ACC Atlantic Division title

2015: Deshaun Watson throws and runs Tigers past Seminoles 23-13

The game started with Dalvin Cook rushing for a 75-yard touchdown for No. 16 FSU against No. 1 Clemson. But it went quickly downhill for the offense from there, as the Seminoles did not score another touchdown.

Cook finished with 21 rushes for 194 yards and the score for FSU but the offense never gained much traction outside of that, as Maguire completed just 16 of his 29 passes for 164 yards and an interception. The Seminoles also lost a fumble.

On the other side, Deshaun Watson threw for 297 yards and a touchdown and added 16 rushes for 107 yards on the ground. Wayne Gallman added 22 rushes for 103 yards. Jordan Leggett finished with six receptions for 101 yards.

Kicker Greg Huegel hit the game-winning 34-yard field goal for Clemson with 7:23 left. Gallman added his longest run of 25 runs to seal the victory with 2:34 left to get the program to its first league title game since 2011.

2013: Jameis Winston throws for four touchdowns in FSU 51-14 blowout win over Clemson

As a redshirt freshman, Jameis Winston threw for 444 yards and three touchdowns to help No. 5 Florida State crush No. 3 Clemson 51-14.

Winston's performance catapulted him into the Heisman Trophy race and put FSU right into the conversation as a BCS Championship contender. Winston finished 22 of 34 passing for 444 yards, three touchdowns and one interception.

The Seminoles had 565 yards of offense, with Devonta Freeman leading the rushing attack with 21 rushes for 84 yards. Tight end Nick O'Leary led the pass catchers with five catches for 161 yards - including a 94-yard reception - and Rashad Greene finished with eight catches for 146 yards and two touchdowns.

Tajh Boyd struggled with the FSU defense, completing 17 of 37 passes for 156 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions. Lamarcus Joyner and Ronald Darby each had interceptions. Mario Edwards returned 37 yards for a touchdown.

The Tigers were limited to 3.0 yards per rushing attempt on 41 attempts to snap a five-game losing streak for FSU at Memorial Stadium.

Seminole Script: Wrapping up BC victory, Clemson predictions from Kassim, Williams

Final analysis

Outside of the 2017 blowout, the Seminoles have been able to stay in the games against Clemson on the road in the past few seasons.

Two things that have hurt FSU in these losses have been the lack of a running game and turnovers. Winston had. superstar performance against the Tigers, something that could be necessary for FSU to pull off the road victory this season.

As when the Tigers and Seminoles meet yearly, this has a chance to be an instant classic which could be the most watched game of the day, despite the noon start.

A victory in 2023 would be just as big for the program as it was in 2013 - a decade ago - for the program to return to its former glory.

GAME INFORMATION

Who: AP No. 4 FSU (3-0, 1-0 ACC) at Clemson (2-1, 0-1)

When/where: Saturday, Sept. 23, noon.; Memorial Stadium, Clemson, S.C.

TV/Radio: ABC/94.9 FM

Live game updates: www.Tallahassee.com; @Ehsan_Kassim on Twitter; @JackGWilliams on Twitter; @JimHenryTALLY on Twitter

Reach Ehsan Kassim at ekassim@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter at @Ehsan_Kassim. You can also follow our coverage on Facebook (NoleSports) and Instagram (tlhnolesports).

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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FSU vs Clemson history: What Florida State football can learn