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Pete Thamel, ESPN
No. 4 Florida State is down two key starters at Clemson on Saturday, as left tackle Robert Scott Jr. and safety Akeem Dent will both miss the game with injury, a source told ESPN.
FSU did get one key player to return on its offensive line, as center Maurice Smith will start, a source said. Smith missed games against Southern Mississippi and Boston College with a lower body injury.
Florida State has lost seven consecutive games to Clemson and will attempt to break that streak on Saturday without two key starters.
Scott is in his fourth season as a starting tackle for FSU, earning second-team All-ACC honors last year as a left tackle. He’s again expected to be replaced by Bless Harris, a Lamar transfer who is expected to make his fourth career start for FSU.
Dent is a star safety who has missed 32 career games. He missed last week’s game at Boston College, which saw FSU yield 305 passing yards to BC’s Thomas Castellanos. Dent suffered a left leg injury against Southern Miss in Week 2.
Smith is expected to make his 31st career start for FSU, a vast majority of those coming at center. He earned honorable mention All-ACC in 2022 and was twice named ACC offensive lineman of the week. He hasn’t played since the opening victory against LSU.
FSU’s offensive line is one of the most experienced in the country, as it returned starters with more than 200 combined starts. That’s helped FSU (3-0) endure some of the early injury issues, as it won at Boston College without both Scott and Smith on the offensive line and Dent in the secondary.
Clemson (2-1) hasn’t lost a home game in ACC play since 2016, when it lost to Pitt 43-42 before going on to win the national title. Clemson’s home loss to South Carolina last year snapped a 40-game home winning streak.