Clemson hosted Florida State at Death Valley today in what not so long ago was a game that would annually be a game with ACC, if not national, championship implications. This year, with both teams hanging around at the bottom of the standings, the pride of beating an old foe would have to be the motivation for winning. The Tigers came out fast and took an 18-0 lead before surrendering a TD late in the half. Both teams started fast in the 2nd half but the scoring was more limited with the Noles committing some costly penalties. The Tigers came away with a 24-10 win.
Clemson came out firing on all cylinders in their first drive that included a 4th down conversion near midfield and a key 25-yard catch by TE Olsen Patt-Henry. Cade Klubnik took it in from 4 yards out and the Tigers faked the extra point kick with placeholder Clay Swinney taking the snap up the middle for the 2-point conversion. Clemson had an 8-0 lead with 8:25 left in the 1st quarter. The Tiger defense followed by limiting the Seminole drive to 4 plays. The Tiger offense then had a 3 & out and a 15-yard punt to give FSU the ball at the Tiger 35. The Tiger defense lost lane discipline and allowed FSU QB Tommy Castellanos to get loose down to the Tiger 10. But a couple of plays later, the Tigers forced a fumble and recovered it at the 11. Unfortunately the Tiger offense couldn’t anything with it and punted. The Tiger defense stopped the Seminoles and the punt was fielded at the Tiger 10 with 16 seconds left in the quarter. Klubnik hit Antonio Williams with a screen pass but the FSU defense had good pursuit and tackled him for a 2-yard loss to end the quarter.
The Tigers were unable to move the chains and punted. The Tiger defense forced a 4th & 2 at the FSU 39. The Noles had a WR wide open down the sideline but he couldn’t make the catch. A couple of plays into their drive, the Tigers called a flea-flicker and Klubnik barely got it off, but was able to hit Williams in the end zone for the score. With the extra point, Clemson led 15-0 at 12:01 left in the half. FSU couldn’t do much on their drive but unleashed a 54-yard punt to pin Clemson at their 4. Clemson got some momentum going and moved into FSU territory. They got to the 23 and had to settle for a 40-yard FG to extend their lead to 18-0. FSU had 2:31 to get something done before heading into the locker room. They moved out past midfield and the Tiger defense let Castellanos get loose, compounding the damage with a late hit. The Noles had the ball at the Tiger 7. On 3rd down, they scored and cut the Clemson lead to 18-7. That’s where the half would end.
The FSU offense came out on fire in the 2nd half and drove down into the red zone. The Tiger defense decided to start playing and on 3rd & 8 they got a sack to force a FG attempt which sailed wide right. The Tigers had dodged a bullet. The Clemson offense caught fire too, with key catches on their drive by Adam Randall, T.J. Moore, Antonio Williams and Gideon Davidson. But the drive stalled at the 5, and Nolan Hauser hit a 23-yard FG to extend the Tiger lead to 21-7 with 6 minutes to go in the quarter. The Noles committed a costly hands to the face penalty that killed their next drive. A 33-yard punt gave the Tigers good field position at their 47. They moved down to the FSU 26 before the quarter ended.
At the start of the 4th quarter, T.J. Moore caught a short pass to the 25 on 3rd down. Hauser came in and extended the lead to 24-7 with 14 minutes to go. FSU drove down to the Tiger 37 and got a pass interference penalty that moved them to the 27. FSU had been hurting themselves all game with penalties and on this drive they really shot themselves in the foot. They ended up at 4th and 24. They came away with 3 points, though, with a FG from 46 yards out. With a bit under 8 minutes left, Clemson held a 24-10 lead. Needing to burn up some time, Clemson called a QB run on 3rd & 5. I just don’t get that. Cade was limping around all game. Why not give it to Randall or Davidson? FSU got the ball with 5 minutes left and moved into Clemson territory. The Tiger defense stiffened and Aveion Terrell got pressure on Castellanos on 4th & 14 causing a loss of 7 and effectively ending FSU’s hopes of a comeback. The Noles used their timeouts to preserve time and the Tiger offense couldn’t move the chains. On their last drive, Castellanos threw an interception that was returned to the FSU 45.
The Tigers got back on track tonight but there was still plenty of frustrating play and questionable play calling. Consistency is poor on both sides of the ball. But they got the win. Are you feeling any better about the Tigers? Let’s discuss it below. Thanks for stopping by!
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