Seminole Saturday Summary: FSU Hoops Picked Fifth in ACC, No. 2 Clemson Blasts Noles

Less than a month separates us from the start of Florida State basketball, but the Seminoles will begin the season highly-regarded.

FSU was picked to finish fifth in the ACC at ACC Operation Basketball earlier this week. Representing FSU in Charlotte were guards Trent Forrest and M.J. Walker and head coach Leonard Hamilton.

FSU has reached the Sweet 16 in each of the last two seasons, but will be replacing six seniors. The Seminoles were picked behind projected and reigning ACC champion Duke, North Carolina, Louisville and reigning national champion Virginia. FSU won a school-record 29 games last season.

Forrest was named to the preseason All-ACC second team. Forrest averaged 9.3 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.9 steals last season. FSU opens the 2019-20 season at Pittsburgh on Nov. 6.

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With a chance to make a major statement, Florida State football proved it has a long way to go on Saturday. The Seminoles were blasted by No. 2 Clemson in Death Valley, 45-14.

The Tigers raced to a 42-0 lead en rout to an easy victory. Quarterback Trevor Lawrence passed for 170 yards and accounted for four total touchdowns for Clemson. Travis Etienne rushed for 127 yards and caught a touchdown in the victory. Clemson’s Derion Kendrick had an interception return for a touchdown.

Tamorrion Terry and Khalan Laborn each scored touchdowns for FSU in the loss. Terry led FSU with 83 yards from scrimmage. Justyn Ross caught two touchdowns for Clemson. Hamsah Nasirildeen had his first interception of the season for the Seminoles in the loss.

Clemson finished with 552 yards to 253 for the Seminoles. FSU turned the ball over four times in the loss with three coming by way of interception and two from quarterback James Blackman. Alex Hornibrook threw the 63-yard touchdown pass to Terry.

Football

Record: 3-3 (2-2 ACC)
Ranking: None
Past Week: (0-1), lost to Clemson, 45-14
Upcoming: at Wake Forest (Saturday)
Recognitions: None
Weekly Commitments: None
2020 Recruiting Class Ranking: No. 10 nationally, second in ACC (21 total commitments)*
Big Picture: FSU will have to win half of its remaining six games to get back to a bowl game. There was little encouraging about Saturday’s blowout loss at Clemson.

Weekly Review

FSU 14, (2) Clemson 45
Saturday, Oct. 12
Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence accounted for four touchdowns as the Tigers beat Florida State for a fifth straight time. Travis Etienne rushed for 127 yards and caught a touchdown. Justyn Ross caught a pair of touchdowns and Derion Kendrick had an interception return for a score. Tamorrion Terry and Khalan Laborn scored the only two touchdowns for the Seminoles.

Men’s Basketball

Weekly Commitments: None
2020 Recruiting Class Ranking: No. 67 nationally, 13th in ACC (2 total commitments)*

Soccer

Record: 11-2 (5-0 ACC)
Ranking: No. 5 United Soccer Coaches
Past Week: (1-0), defeated Virginia Tech in double-overtime, 3-2
Upcoming: vs. Virginia (Sunday); vs. Miami (Friday)
Recognitions: None
Big Picture: Florida State tallied yet another thrilling victory on Thursday night with a double-overtime win over Virginia Tech. At 5-0 in conference, the Seminoles have already equaled last season’s ACC win total and are in sole possession of first place in the conference.

Weekly Review

(5) FSU 3, (20) Virginia Tech 2
Thursday, Oct. 10 (Double Overtime)
Florida State had a 1-player advantage when Leilanni Nesbeth’s goal in double-overtime capped the ninth straight win for the Seminoles. FSU dominated the match with 26 shots to nine for Virginia Tech, but two of the Hokies’ three shots on goal found the net. Molly Feighan and Allyson Brown each scored goals for Virginia Tech. Makala Thomas finished with a goal and an assist for FSU while Deyna Castellanos evened the game early for the Seminoles with a goal, assisted by Yujie Zhao. Virginia Tech goalkeeper Many McGlynn finished the night with 10 saves.

Volleyball

Record: 10-4 (4-1 ACC)
Ranking: No. 23 AVCA Coaches Poll
Past Week: (1-1), lost to Pittsburgh, 3-1; defeated NC State, 3-0
Upcoming: at North Carolina (Sunday); vs. Boston College (Friday)
Recognitions: None
Big Picture: Florida State missed an opportunity to put itself in the driver’s seat in the ACC race, but the Seminoles bounced back nicely with a straight-set victory at NC State.

Weekly Review

(4) Pittsburgh 3, (23) FSU 1
Sunday, Oct. 6
In what should be its biggest test of the season, Florida State volleyball missed opportunities at Tully Gymnasium against No. 4 Pittsburgh. After dropping the first set, the Seminoles led 24-21 in the second, but watched Pittsburgh score the next five points. FSU won the third set handily to avoid the sweep, but fell in the fourth, 25-19. Chinaza Ndee led Pittsburgh with a match-high 15 kils. Kayla Lund added 14 kills and 12 digs for the Panthers. Payton Caffrey had 12 kills to lead FSU while Taylor Roberts had a team-high 18 digs.

(23) FSU 3, NC State 0
Friday, Oct. 11
NC State didn’t score more than 19 points in any set as Florida State stayed perfect on the road in ACC play. Payton Caffrey paced FSU with 11 kills while Morgan Chacon recorded 10 digs. Jessica Kemp had eight kills to lead the Wolfpack in the loss.

Cross Country

Ranking: Men No. 30 USTFCCCA, No. 3 USTFCCCA South Region; Women No. 11 USTFCCCA, No. 1 USTFCCCA South Region
Past Week: FSU women finished second at FSU Invitational
Upcoming: UAB Blazer Invitational (Friday)
Recognitions: None
Big Picture: It was another solid week for the FSU women’s cross country team. For the first time since 2014, the Seminoles are the top-ranked team in the South Region. Both the men’s and women’s programs are nationally ranked at the same time for the first time since 2015.

Weekly Review

Women finished second FSU Invitational
Friday, Oct. 11
The Florida State women finished second to rival Florida in the FSU Invitational. Sophomore Erin Phelps finished fifth while freshman Yasmine Abbes rounded out the top 10. Florida’s Jessica Pascoe took the individual title. Only two Seminoles raced on the men’s side, but FSU grad student David Barney did manage to take first place individually. The Gators also claimed the men’s team title.

Women’s Golf

Ranking: No. 13 WGCA
Past Week: Idle
Upcoming: Jim West Challenger (Oct. 20-21)
Recognitions: None
Big Picture: Florida State was idle over the last week after a strong finish in Oklahoma. Frida Kinhult is coming off her first victory of the season. FSU will be in Texas for the Jim West Challenge, which starts on Sunday.

Men’s Golf

Ranking: None
Past Week: FSU finished third at the Jack Nicklaus Collegiate Invitational
Upcoming: White Sands Intercollegiate (Nov. 1-3)
Recognitions: None
Big Picture: FSU played well in Ohio to end its visit with a win. The Seminoles will have a fairly long hiatus before traveling to Texas.

Weekly Review

Third at the Jack Nicklaus Collegiate Invitational
Monday, Oct. 7 and Tuesday, Oct. 8
Florida State split a pair of match play contests to finish in third place in Dublin, Ohio. After falling to Duke on Monday, the Seminoles took care of host Ohio State on Tuesday. Clemson wound up winning the invitational. Junior Parker Reddig had the best two days for the Seminoles, going 2-0-1 in match play.

Swimming and Diving

Ranking: Men No. 17 CSCAA; Women No. 24 CSCAA
Past Week: Men defeated Duke, 153-147; women fell to Duke, 177-123
Upcoming: vs. Minnesota (Saturday)
Recognitions: None
Big Picture: The FSU men had a close win over Duke on Saturday while the FSU women remained winless on the young season.

Weekly Review

Men: Duke 147, (17) FSU 153; Women: (22) Duke 177, (24) FSU 123
Saturday, Oct. 19
Florida State’s men got their first win of the season while the women fell to 0-2 in the home opener. Joshua Davidson and Cameron Thatcher took first and second in the men’s 3-meter diving. On the women’s side, Ayla Bonniwell and Molly Carlson did likewise. Vladimir Stefanik and Mohamed Ghaffari took first and second, respectively, for FSU in the men’s 200-yard freestyle.

Other News

FSU women’s tennis completed the ITA All-American Championships.

FSU football players paid a visit to Buck Lake Elementary after third-graders sent letters of encouragement.

FSU’s football contest at Wake Forest on Oct. 19 will begin at 7:30 p.m. EST and will air on ACC Network.

*247Sports Composite rankings

Mike Ferguson is the editor of The Daily Nole. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson. Like The Daily Nole on Facebook. To pitch an idea, author a post or to learn more about The Daily Nole, email Mike Ferguson at Mike@TheDailyNole.com.