Most of the season, Clemson has leaned on its defense to carry the load. The Tiger "D" was solid on Saturday, as they allowed FSU just 13 offensive points. They also held the Seminoles to under 250 total yards of offense. However, the offense for Clemson finally helped it's defense on Saturday. The Tigers were in "ground and pound" mode as they ran the ball early and often. Clemson finished with a major advantage on the ground outgaining FSU 188-65.
Clemson also cleaned up some of their issues with 3rd down defense and penalties, they held FSU to 4 of 13 on 3rd down attempts. The tigers were flagged 6 times for a total of 25 yards. FSU has had issues with penalties all year, they had 9 for 85 yards.
Clemson trailed after the 1st quarter 6-3. The Tigers got a 47 yard FG from B.T. Potter to go up 3-0. Near the end of the 1st, FSU found the end zone on a TD pass from Jordan Travis, Clemson blocked the PAT. In the 2nd Quarter, Clemson s when took a 10-6 lead when QB D.J Uigalelei found TE Davis Allen. FSU hit on a big play to take re-take the lead at 13-10, when Jodran Travis found Lawrance Toafili for a 75 yard scoring strike. Clemson would then put together their longest scoring drive of the game. Freshman RB Will Shipley found pay dirt to cap off a 10 play, 83 yard drive that took over 4 minutes off the clock. The Tigers took a 17-13 lead into the halftime locker room.
Neither team would score in the 3rd, as both defensed stepped up. An offensive miscue would allow FSU to re-take the lead with less than 8 minutes left in the 4th quarter. Uigalelei was stripped and the fumble was returned for a TD by FSU's Jermaine Johnson to put them up 20-17. Clemson's defense then flipped the field position to set up the offense. Will Shipley would score for the 2nd time, he scampered 21 yards to put Clemson up 24-20 with 2:53 left in the game. Both defenses traded stops and FSU had one final chance. The Noles tried the hook and lateral play and fumbled on the attempt. Clemson LB Barrett Carter scooped it up and scored to seal the win at 30-20.
Will Shipley finished with 128 yards and two TD's on 25 carries, fellow Freshman RB Phil Mafah added 69 yards on 9 carries. D-End Myles Murphy had a big day with 2.5 sacks and 3.5 tackles for loss. Clemson moves to 5-3 on the season and 4-2 in ACC play with the win. The Tigers will travel to take on Louisville on Saturday, it'll be a night game in the "Derby City" as kickoff is set for 7:30 PM.
