The Countdown: 16 days until the ACC

The ACC has many games that will impact the conference and national scene in the 2013 season. But perhaps no game will have the effect on the ACC Championship Game (or perhaps the BCS title game) quite like the one in Clemson, South Carolina on October 19th, when defending ACC Champion Florida State travels to Death Valley to face the Tigers of Clemson.

While this game doesn't have their own Bingo card to go along with it, it still is a big game. In the past 4 seasons, the winner of the Florida State-Clemson game has gone on to win the Atlantic Division. In the past two seasons, they later went on to win the ACC. So this game has a big impact on the ACC race. With the Noles and the Tigers likely ranked in the top 15 in the preseason, if both sides get by their season openers, the game at Memorial Stadium figures to be between two undefeated and top 10 teams, with the winner joining the national title chase - at least until they drop a game they're favored by double-digits. Clemson figures to be the favorite, with Tajh Boyd and Sammy Watkins running the show for the Tigers, while Florida State has a new starting QB and is replacing multiple assistant coaches

Recent history has seen this series become tightly contested. While the Seminoles dominated the early portion of this rivalry, lately it's become a lot closer, with Clemson taking 6 the last 10 after winning only 2 times in the first 16 games played. The past 6 games have gone to the home team.