Clemson vs. Florida State: Tigers hold Seminoles at bay, win 29-13

Clemson traveled to Tallahassee this week to take on Florida State. After winning seven straight, the Tigers suffered a heartbreaking overtime defeat. Going into this year's preseason, many expected the Seminoles to be the dominant team in the ACC and win the conference championship, but after five games, FSU managed just one win against Cal and uncharacteristically finished at the bottom of the conference standings. Clemson, meanwhile, snapped a three-game winning streak to avenge last year's loss in Death Valley and give Dabo Swinney 174 wins in the ACC, passing FSU legend Bobby Bowden. The outcome of the game was never in doubt and the Tigers walked away with a 29-13 victory.

FSU won the toss and postponed the decision. The Tigers gained 7 yards on a run and reception by Phil Mafah, but failed to convert the ball on 3rd down and missed a punt. The Noles took over on their 28th line. The Tiger defense gave up 3 yards on FSU's possession and forced the punt. Clemson took over at 25 years old.

Troy Stellato had a few throws to move the chains and then Kade Klubnik fought for another 1st down. Antonio Williams then took a pitch with a jet sweep and moved the chains again. A good run by Mafah and a face mask penalty on the Noles got the Tigers to the FSU 22. A few plays later, on 3rd & 7, the Tigers couldn't convert and settled for a 26-yard FG, to take a 3-3 lead. 0 with 6:33 remaining in the 1st quarter.

On FSU's next possession, the Tiger defense completely shut them down and forced a 3-&-out. Williams returned the punt to the Tiger 42. After a short Mafah run, Klubnik hit Williams with a 56-yard catch-and-run for a score. Clemson led 10-0 after 3:20.

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A pass interference call against the Tigers allowed the Noles to advance to the 42 line. A few plays later, Avieon Terrell threw an interception and returned it to midfield. Klubnik started a 14-yard run, but didn't slip and was shaken. Christopher Vizzina came to the QB for a play and threw it deep. The pass was incomplete, but the Noles were called for pass interference. Klubnik came back into the game on the next play. TJ Moore took a screen pass for a 23-yard touchdown, giving the Tigers a 17-0 lead with two seconds left in the quarter.

The Noles started moving the ball better and got into Tiger territory with a 35-yard pass at the 28th minute. A roughing the passer penalty gave the Noles 1st-and-goal at the 9. On third down, they hit a 13-yard pass cutting the Tigers lead to 17-7 with 11:11 left in the half. After the kickoff, Klubnik started the drive with a 27-yard run to the Noles' 48-yard. Williams then completed a 20-yard pass to the 28-yard line. Stellato completed a jet sweep for 11 yards. The Tigers then started going backwards, scoring on 3rd-and-23. Klubnik took a targeted run for 9 yards. Nolan Hauser attempted a 38-yard FG, but it was blocked. A very good drive had imploded and the momentum of the game had noticeably shifted.

FSU appeared to keep the momentum going on the first play with a deep pass, but the pass was called back for holding. They couldn't dig themselves out of the hole and had to stab. Clemson threw it at the 28 mark with about five minutes left in the half. They used short passes and Mafah runs to advance into Nole territory. Klubnik hit Josh Sapp for 24 yards by the 25th minute. A Klubnik run yielded nothing and Mafah picked up 4 to set up 3rd and 6, but they didn't convert. This time the FG sailed through the uprights and gave Clemson a 20-7 lead with just under two minutes left.

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FSU was shut out and beaten by the Tiger defense. With just over a minute left, Clemson took over at the 15th. Aided by a pass interference penalty, Clemson moved down the field and eventually got to 1st-and-10 at the Nole 15. Klubnik almost hit Williams in the end zone, but the pass was a little too high. After getting to the 8, they scored a 25-yard FG as time expired, extending their lead to 23-7.

At the start of the second half, FSU got the ball first, got off to a good start and moved into Tiger territory. As is typical this year, the Noles had a bad snap and lost 17 yards back to midfield. They ended up punting and Clemson threw it at their 5. Mafah's legs and catches from Jay Haynes and Jake Briningstool moved the ball near midfield. However, on 3rd and 6 they couldn't convert and had to punt. The punt traveled 48 yards and tied the Noles at their 4th.

The Tiger defense didn't allow anything on FSU's advance and forced a punt. Williams returned it to the FSU 45. The Tiger offense had another good drive and got to the FSU 25. On 3rd and 8, Cole Turner made a nice catch down the sideline at the 11 to keep the drive alive. But the Nole defense stiffened, forcing Clemson to settle for a 25-yard FG attempt, which was again blocked.

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FSU put together a decent drive and converted a 4th down to move into Clemson territory, but a subsequent holding penalty put them in a big hole. They managed to get to 3rd-and-9, but another bad snap forced 4th-and-9, but FSU QB Brock Glenn was able to grab 1st. They got into the red zone and scored on a nicely thrown ball from Glenn. They went for 2 but failed to catch the ball, leaving the score at 23-13 with 9:36 to play. The Clemson push began with a 59-yard run by Mafah to the FSU 16. But the Nole defense stiffened and the Tigers had to settle for a 31-yard FG. Clemson really needs to figure out the offense in the red zone. With 6:38 minutes left the score was 26-13.

FSU's push was ineffective due to two sacks by the Tigers. The punt was shot at the Tiger 45. Williams made a jet sweep for 25 yards to the Seminole 30. Clemson went to Mafah's legs and they got to 3rd-and-9 at the 12. Klubnik picked up 5 yards on a designed run with Mafah throwing a great lead block. They settled for a FG, making the score 29-13.

The Tigers never trailed and walked away with the win. Mafah and Klubnik both continued to play well. The offensive line still appears to be finding some stability and has allowed the Seminoles to put pressure on Klubnik too often. Run blocking also went up and down a bit. The Red Zone offense was spectacularly unproductive tonight. Defensively, the Tigers benefited greatly from a series of drops from FSU receivers. There will be a lot of filming in the secondary school this week. How do you rate the game tonight? Let us know in the comment sections. Check back with us over the next few days for analysis of the game and a preview of next week when Wake Forest, fresh off a win over NC State, hosts the Tigers. Thank you for visiting STS!