Clemson returned home after three weeks on the road to defeat Florida State 30-20 on Saturday.
Fortunately for the Tigers, running back Will Shipley had his best game of the season on Saturday. He finished with 128 rushing yards and 24 receiving yards, highlighted by a 21-yard touchdown run in with 2:53 left in the fourth quarter.
Meanwhile, DJ Uiagalelei remained the starting quarterback for this week’s game despite many fans’ skepticism following Clemson’s previous loss.
In the latter half of the first quarter, kicker B.T. Potter scored a 47-yard field goal to cap off a 46-yard drive. In the drive, wide receiver Justyn Ross accumulated 28 receiving yards.
Florida State managed to sneak by the Tigers with the Seminoles’ Jashaun Corbin rushing 24 yards to reach a first and goal. In the last 20 seconds of the quarter, the Seminoles achieved the first touchdown of the game, giving Florida State a 6-0 lead.
Clemson running back Phil Mafah made up for this set back by having a 63-yard rush for the Tigers before being tackled at the Seminoles’ 14-yard line.
On third down at the Seminoles’ 11-yard line, Uiagalelei completed a pass to Davis Allen for a touchdown. Potter converted the extra point.
Florida State scored on the following drive after wide receiver Lawarance Toafili caught a 75-yard touchdown.
Shipley closed out the quarter with another touchdown for the Tigers to take a 17-13 lead into halftime.
Starting the second half trailing by four, Seminoles’ Omarion Cooper intercepted Uiagalelei’s pass intended for Joseph Ngata.
In the middle of the fourth quarter, Uiagalelei fumbled the ball within Clemson’s five-yard line. The ball was recovered by the Seminoles’ and returned for a touchdown.
Shipley’s late 21-yard touchdown was followed by a fumble-six from Clemson’s Barrett Carter with no time remaining in the game.
“We were soft on the run game. Really not consistent. We really did not execute well in the first half,” Head Coach Dabo Swinney said about his defense.
As for special teams, Potter missed three field goals this game despite only missing one the entire season.
Swinney said, “I told him to shake it off, he’s been there for us all year. He’s been money for us all year long…He’ll bounce back.”
To recap his team’s performance, Swinney mentioned that Saturday’s win over Florida State was a top-five victory for his coaching experience at Clemson.
This was Clemson’s sixth straight win against Florida State. Scarily enough, this game was the second highest-scoring of Clemson’s offense all season.
With only three conference games left in the regular season, Clemson looks to revitalize a win streak starting with next week’s game against Louisville.
