TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — EJ Manuel of Florida State and longtime friend Tajh Boyd of Clemson have known each other since middle school and are now the top-rated passers in the Atlantic Coast Conference headed into a top-10 matchup Saturday.
Boyd got the best of things last year in Clemson’s 35-30 victory, while Manuel watched from the sideline with a shoulder injury. Both players and teams are expected to be full strength when Florida State hosts the 10th-ranked Tigers.
“We are both going to be opponents and competitors and want to beat each other,” Manuel said. “That’s the fun part about getting to play your friends.”
Manuel, who has played just six quarters this season, has thrown for 525 yards and 6 touchdowns and 1 interception. Boyd has passed for 747 yards, 6 touchdowns and 1 interception.
Once again among those in college football’s stratosphere, the fourth-ranked Seminoles (3-0, 1-0 ACC) have a chance to show whether they learned from last year’s early season collapse when they host 10thranked Clemson (3-0, 0-0) in Saturday’s national marquee game, featuring a matchup of ACC schools ranked in the top 10 for the first time since 2007.
“We’ll be ready,” Fisher promised after Thursday’s practice.
After soaring to fifth in the polls early last season, the Seminoles fell to Oklahoma 23-13 in their third game and then lost the next two at Clemson and Wake Forest by identical 35-30 scores.
“I think we’ve learned some lessons,” Fisher said. “ Handling all that stuff that goes with those type of games.”
The Seminoles are a twotouchdown favorite, and should be, according to Clemson Coach Dabo Swinney, who said earlier in the week that few teams in the nation, other than possibly top-ranked Alabama or No. 2 LSU, would be favored to win in Tallahassee this year.
“If I’m on the outside looking in, I’m probably picking Florida State, too, but that’s why we play the game,” Swinney said. “They’re playing at home. That’s always a big advantage.”
He’s worried about Florida State’s defense, which has only allowed a field goal all season.
“Defensively, they are probably as talented as anybody we’ve seen since I’ve been here,” said Swinney, who is 32-19 since replacing TommyBowden midway through the 2008 season. “If they dominate our offensive line, it’s going to be a long night.”
And then there’s Manuel, a fifth-year senior who is 16-4 as a starter and leads the ACC in passing efficiency. He’s in charge of keeping the ball away from Clemson’s offense, with Boyd, running back Andre Ellington and receivers DeAndre Hopkins and Sammy Watkins.
“They are going to score points just like we are,” Manuel said. “We have to be ready to combat that.”
A rejuvenated running game at Florida State led by senior Chris Thompson and sophomore James Wilder Jr. will be key. Thompson, who returned after breaking two vertebrae last season, rushed for a career-high 197 yards in last week’s 52-0 victory over Wake Forest.
Sports, Pages 19 on 09/22/2012