TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The No. 15 Clemson Tigers disposed of the Florida State Seminoles by a convincing score of 29-13 to continue their undefeated ACC campaign. This victory now makes it a decade since Florida State last beat Clemson in its own Doak Campbell Stadium, when legends like Grady Jarrett suited up for the Tigers against Dalvin Cook for the Seminoles.
Although not as high-scoring as recent contests — see App State, NC State, Stanford — Dabo Swinney’s squad looked poised for his record-setting victory. With his 174th ACC win, Swinney overtook Bobby Bowden as the all-time winningest head coach in conference history on the field named for Bowden himself.
“I love him,” linebacker Wade Woodaz said of his coach post-game. “There isn’t anyone else I would want to play for.”
The Tigers played it conservatively on crucial downs, settling for field goals rather than trying to convert. Two such kicks from freshman Nolan Hauser were successfully blocked by the Seminoles after Clemson’s left guard was beat out in both attempts, leaving the Tigers scoreless after otherwise convincing drives.
This is not to say that Garrett Riley’s offense looked bad but rather less aggressive than in previous games. It tied for the same number of first downs, 28, achieved against App State, yet scored 37 points less, indicating a lack of follow-through. The Tigers still managed 265 yards on the ground and 235 in the air for a total of 500.
“We had a mediocre, A- or B+ performance on offense,” Klubnik said.
Hauser led scoring for the Tigers with 17 points; Antonio Williams added a touchdown off a 57-yard reception from Cade Klubnik, and T.J. Moore scored in his home state for the first time with a 23-yard trip to the endzone of his own.
“I’ve always hated Florida State, so that especially meant something,” T.J. Moore said.
Klubnik looked strong under center with two passing touchdowns and no interceptions. He put his legs to work with 62 rushing yards, second only to Phil Mafah’s 154.
Defense, Clemson’s consistent juggernaut in recent years, is never satisfied. Despite holding the Seminoles to just 22 yards on the ground, the unit is focusing elsewhere.
“I think there were so many opportunities for us to get our hands on passes, especially for me,” Woodaz said.
The lone interception of the game came at the hands of Aveion Terrell, who confirmed it was the easiest of his career.
“He threw it right to me,” he said.
Clemson improves to 4-1 with this victory and remains undefeated in conference play. The Tigers next travel to Winston-Salem, North Carolina, to take on Wake Forest next Saturday at noon.
