Stats & Storylines: Clemson stretches series win streak, lets up late against FSU |
Current freshmen at Florida State were in elementary school the last time the Seminoles beat Clemson way back in 2014. That was an incredibly painful loss, but these students and recruits were too young to experience it.
For all the talk about Florida State’s supposed resurgence and how good it is for the ACC if they’re “back,” my first trip to Tallahassee in over a decade has me feeling differently. Over a decade ago, I took my future wife to the game in Tallahassee and she swore she’d never return after being on the receiving end of some very poor sportsmanship from FSU fans. I suckered her into going again and was quickly reminded of the foul words commonly flung toward Clemson fans. After the Seminoles sniped an offensive recruit from Clemson last week, a dominant statement win would have been ideal. After securing a 20-point lead, however, the Tigers played with their food and allowed Florida State to suffer just a six-point defeat. Let’s analyze how it happened. Dominating the “Middle Eight” The score was tied at 14 with two minutes remaining in the first half. The crowd was loud, doing their tomahawk chop, and it felt like fertile ground for another big upset on the day that Alabama fell to Tennessee. A BT Potter field goal gave Clemson a 17-14 lead. A Myles Murphy strip sack gave Clemson the ball back in Seminole territory. A DJ Uiagalelei touchdown run put Clemson up 24-14 at halftime. A 69-yard kick return by Will Shipley followed by a 31-yard TD pass to Davis Allen continued Clemson’s rapid assault. It came on an aggressive trick play call from OC Brandon Streeter and put Clemson up 31-14. For the third week in a row, Clemson was outstanding in the “middle eight.” They outscored Florida State by 17 in just a few minutes and the game seemed over. Total Yards – FSU: 460; Clemson 370 “I didn’t think we’d win if we didn’t outrush them, but we did. That’s probably because we won the turnover margins and won special teams.” – Coach Dabo Swinney Once Clemson secured a 20-point lead in the third quarter, you would have loved to see them run the ball effectively and salt the game away. Unfortunately, the two drives following the field goal that put them up 20 were just 2:26 and 1:03 long and ended with punts. That’s where you’d love to be able to lean on your O-line to break their will. Florida State wouldn’t quit, however. Clemson’s defense seemed to lose focus at the end of the game. After allowing two TD drives to start the game, the defense played well through the remainder of the game until they allowed back-to-back touchdown drives of 60 and 94 yards in the fourth quarter. That put the game in jeopardy. Fortunately for the Tigers, Brannon Spector secured FSU’s onside kick and Clemson left with a win. Swinney suggested the defense lost their focus and were “playing to the scoreboard a little bit.” Murphy, KJ Henry, Nate Wiggins, and Sheridan Jones (back from injury) looked sharp, but others had less stellar days. Will Shipley: 20 carries, 121 yards (6.1 YPC), six receptions for 48 yards, one kick return for 69 yards Will Shipley was undoubtedly the player of the game. He once again grinded out the tough yards. The running lanes weren’t always wide, but he fights through, breaks arm tackles, and is a pain to bring down. He and Phil Mafah were used extensively in the passing game too. Streeter often put the running backs in motion and had Uiagalelei hit them on passes behind the line of scrimmage on what were de facto toss plays. “Those are [essentially] toss sweeps to make them run, distort them a little bit, and loosen them up and then maybe get some things on the inside," Swinney said postgame. Shipley also added a 69-yard kick return to start the second half. The Tigers would score on the next play and – although it got uncomfortable late – put the game mostly out of reach. DJ Uiagalelei: 15/23 (65.2%), 203 yards (8.8 YPA), three TDs, 0 INT, one rushing TD Uiagalelei missed two or three throws and didn’t see two wide-open receivers, but still put together a highly efficient game. I know we’ve said it a million times, but his progress from last season is amazing. This was better than every game he played last season, yet it wasn’t one of his better performances this year. He may not be a Heisman contender or the second-coming of Trevor Lawrence, but he is a top-10 QB in college football and one who is capable of leading Clemson to a playoff win. ACC Atlantic Division Race “We’re trying to win the division. That’s really all we're focused on and to do that, we’re going to have to beat Syracuse.” - Swinney Clemson has now beat every Atlantic Division team except Syracuse and Louisville. Louisville is largely out of contention so the division will likely come down to next Saturday’s showdown (noon, ABC) with Syracuse in Death Valley. Syracuse beat NC State handily and comes to Clemson with an undefeated record. They still have to play Wake Forest and Florida State, so it is possible the Tigers could lose and still win the division, but it would be dicey. A win would likely seal the division.
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