#2 Clemson VS Florida State

 

Tallahassee, FL 
 

Clemson came into Tallahassee today ranked #2 in the nation and 7-0 overall with a 4-0 mark in the ACC.  The Tigers looking to add to their playoff resume and continue along with their quest for a 4th straight ACC Championship in as many years.  The Tigers took the field in search of balance after last weeks pass-heavy game.

1st quarter saw both teams come out slowly feeling each other out…  neither able to sustain a drive of any sort.  By the end of the 1st stanza, both teams had played to a 0-0 score with Clemson driving as the quarter came to an end. 

 

At the outset of the second quarter, the Tigers found their way into the end zone on a Lawrence to Higgins touchdown pass. On a drive that consisted of eight plays and sixty-nine yards. it’s  Clemson 7-0 over FSU.  FSU again cannot sustain a drive in the 2nd quarter, as the Clemson defense overwhelmed the Noles in the period. 

 

 

  Meanwhile, the Clemson offense got on track with another Tee Higgins touchdown catch after a drive of 58 yards Clemson 14 FSU 0. On the ensuing drive, the Seminoles threw an interception that linebacker Tre Lamar took back deep into FSU territory.   A few plays later, Clemson inserted their “heavy package “ and  Christian Wilkins took the handoff out of the “I Back” position and dove into the end zone to give the Tigers a 21-0 lead after the successful extra point by Huegel. 

 

After stifling FSU yet again with another three and out, the Tigers ensuring drive consisted of 4 straight completed pass plays and a nine-yard run by Tavian Feaster and again the Tigers were knocking on the door of the end zone.  Garrett Williams took it in on a fullback dive from 2 yards out capping a seventy-three-yard drive and putting the Tigers ahead 28-0 going into the half.  

Coming out of halftime the Tigers continued where they left off going into the locker room as Lawrence found Amari Rodgers on a fifty-eight-yard touchdown pass extending the lead to 35-0 after just thirty-eight seconds elapsed in the third quarter. 

 

 

After each team went three and out, they exchanged punts that led to a muff by the Seminoles deep in their own territory. Clemson took the gift turnover and cashed it in with another score this time with a twenty-eight-yard field goal by Clemson kicker  BT Potter.  Clemson 38 FSU 0. 

FSU was again stopped and forced to turn the ball back over to the Tigers.  Clemson then started filtering the reserves in as Chase Brice took over the quarterback helm and summarily threw a 68-yard touchdown to Amari Rodgers to make it 45-0 Clemson over the Noles.  

Florida State was able to finally sustain a drive and with 4:35 left in the third quarter the Noles hit a 35-yard field goal to finally get on the board.  Clemson 45 FSU 3.

 

 

Clemson answered the Noles as Brice again led a drive to the end zone that featured a 61-yard catch and run by Deondre Overton down into the red zone.  Brice then connected with TJ Chase for a Touchdown pass and the Tigers led 52-3. FSU goes three and out and a bad punt leaves Clemson in FSU territory and Brice again goes back to work.  The drive is capped off with a 15-yard touchdown run by Adam Choice. Clemson 59-FSU3.

 

 

The Noles pony up a touchdown late and this one ends Clemson 59 Florida State 10.  In the worse loss ever for Florida State inside their home stadium.   Clemson moves to 8-0 overall and 5-0 in the ACC as they look toward next week and Louisville as they come to visit the Tigers in Death Valley.

 

 

Dabo Post Game Press Conference:

 

GAME NOTES

 

• The 49-point victory by Clemson was the largest home defeat suffered by Florida State, surpassing a 44-point home loss to Southern Miss on Nov. 14, 1981. It matched Florida State’s largest margin of defeat at any location in school history, equaling a 49-point loss at Florida in 1973.

• Clemson’s 59 points were the most ever scored by any opponent at Florida State.

• Clemson has now scored 40 points in three straight games for the first time since the final game of 2014 and the first two games of 2015. It represents Clemson’s first time doing so in a single season since a four-game span in games 8-11 of the 2013 season.

• Clemson’s 59 points were their most in the 32-game all-time series against Florida State, surpassing Clemson’s 40 points against the Seminoles in 2009.

• Clemson played all 72 available players in the victory. Clemson has played all 72 players on the travel roster in each of its three ACC road games this season.

• Clemson has now scored 163 points in its last three games, the team’s most points in a three-game span in ACC play since scoring 163 against Duke, Maryland and NC State in 2012.

• Clemson has won its last three games by margins of 60, 34 and 49 points. Clemson has now won three straight games by at least 34 points for only the second time in school history and the first time since the first three games of the 2000 season.

• Clemson has now gained 450 yards of offense in six straight games for the first time since a 12-game streak spanning the final 11 games of 2015 and the opener in 2016.

• Clemson has now passed for 300 yards in back-to-back games for the first time since the 2017 College Football Playoff National Championship Game to conclude the 2016 season and the 2017 season opener against Kent State. Previously, the last time Clemson had thrown for 300 yards in consecutive games in the same season was during a four-game span against NC State, Florida State, Syracuse and Pitt in 2016.

• Clemson held Florida State to -21 rushing yards, breaking the mark for fewest rushing yards allowed by the Tigers in ACC play set at North Carolina on Nov. 4, 1989 (-6). The -21 rushing yards tied for the second-fewest rushing yards allowed in a game in school history, trailing only a rushing performance of -29 yards by Furman on Sept. 7, 1996.

• Quarterback Trevor Lawrence completed 20-37 passes for a career-high 314 yards and tied his career high with four passing touchdowns.

• With his third touchdown pass of the day, Lawrence recorded his 15th passing touchdown of the season to break Deshaun Watson’s school record for passing touchdowns by a true freshman.

• During the contest, Lawrence also broke Watson’s school record for passing yards by a first-year freshman (1,466).

• Clemson earned its fourth victory in games started by Lawrence to tie him with Deshaun Watson’s school record for wins as a starting quarterback as a true freshman (four).

• Lawrence has now thrown for 300 yards in back-to-back games for the first time in his career. He is the first Clemson quarterback to do it since Watson in 2016, which coincidentally came in games against NC State and Florida State.

• Wide receiver Tee Higgins finished the afternoon with 62 yards on six catches. He pushed his single-season career high in touchdown receptions this year to six.

• The multi-touchdown game was Higgins’ first of the season and second of his career, matching his career high (two) set against The Citadel on Nov. 18, 2017.

• Wide receiver Amari Rodgers totaled 156 yards six carries, surpassing his previous career-high of 73 rushing yards, set against Texas A&M in the second game of the season.

• Higgins and Rodgers both became the first Clemson player to record multiple touchdown receptions in a single game since Hunter Renfrow at South Carolina on Nov. 25, 2017.

• Higgins and Rodgers became the first Clemson duo to both catch two touchdown passes in a single game since Germone Hopper and Mike Williams against North Carolina on Sept. 27, 2014.

• Clemson opened the scoring in the second quarter on a seven-yard pass fromLawrence to Higgins. Clemson improved to 34-0 when scoring first since 2015.

• Higgins has now recorded a touchdown catch in three straight games, becoming the first Clemson player to accomplish the feat since Mike Williams’ four-game streak in the final four regular season contests of 2016.

• Higgins added his second touchdown reception of the game later in the quarter on a three-yard pass by Lawrence. 

• Defensive tackle Christian Wilkins recorded the first rushing touchdown of his career on a one-yard touchdown plunge in the second quarter.

• The rushing touchdown is believed to be the first by a Clemson defensive lineman since the advent of the two-platoon system.

• It was Wilkins’ second career offensive touchdown, joining his one-yard touchdown reception against Troy in 2016.

• H-back Garrett Williams also recorded the first rushing touchdown of his career on Clemson’s next possession, scoring on a two-yard run on his first career carry.

• Williams’ first career touchdown came in the stadium in which his father, Dayne, played collegiately for Florida State.

• Rodgers opened the second-half scoring with a 58-yard touchdown reception, his second of the season and his first since scoring Clemson’s first points of the season in the opener against Furman.

• Rodgers added a 68-yard touchdown reception later in the quarter. All of Rodgers’ touchdown receptions this season have covered 40-plus yards.

• Rodgers became the first Clemson player to catch two touchdowns of 50-plus yards in a single game since Artavis Scott against South Carolina in 2014. He joins Scott, Germone Hopper (2014 vs. North Carolina) and Craig Brantley (1974 vs. Virginia) as the only Clemson players to accomplish the feat since 1950 and the first to do so on the road.

• Wide receiver T.J. Chase recorded his first career touchdown reception on a five-yardp pass from Chase Brice in the third quarter.

• On a 15-yard rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter, his third of the season, running back Adam Choice reached 1,000 career rushing yards during the contest to give Clemson three active 1,000-yard career rushers on its current roster (Travis Etienne and Tavien Feaster). Only Ball State, Georgia Tech, SMU and Syracuse entered the week with three active career 1,000-yard rushers.

• Wide receiver Hunter Renfrow extended his streak of consecutive games played with a reception to 36, tying Jerry Butler for the second-longest streak in school history.

• Renfrow tallied four catches in the game, moving into eight in program history for career receptions with 163.

• Linebacker Tre Lamar recorded his first career interception, picking off Florida State quarterback Deondre Francois in the second quarter.

• With Lamar’s interception, Clemson forced a takeaway in a 16th consecutive contest, the program’s longest streak since an 18-game stretch across the 2004-05 seasons.

• Defensive end Clelin Ferrell recorded a sack in the first quarter to move past Brentson Buckner and Bryant McNeal (22.0 each) for seventh-most career sacks in Clemson history.

• Ferrell recorded the fourth forced fumble of his career on the play.

• Linebacker Isaiah Simmons added his second forced fumble of the season, the third of his career, in the second quarter.

• Defensive tackle Albert Huggins pushed his career sack total to 6.0 with a third-quarter sack of Francois.

• Defensive tackle Jordan Williams recorded the first full sack of his career in the third quarter.

• Defensive end Xavier Thomas notched his third sack of his freshman season in the fourth quarter.

• Defensive tackle Xavier Kelly recorded his first sack of the season, the second of his career, during the contest.

• Tackle Mitch Hyatt made his 50th career start to break Landon Walker’s school record for career starts by an offensive tackle and the school record for most starts by any offensive lineman (49), shared by Walker and Dalton Freeman. 

• Hyatt became the first position player in Clemson history to record 50 career starts. He is now only two starts shy of Clemson’s all-time record of 52, set by kicker Chandler Catanzaro.

• Rodgers recorded punt returns of 29 yards and 34 yards in the second quarter, giving him four punt returns of 20 or more yards this season. 

• With his third point of the game, kicker Greg Huegel passed Aaron Hunt (329 from 2000-03) for second on the program’s all-time career scoring list.

• Kicker B.T. Potter recorded his first career field goal, converting on a 24-yard opportunity in the third quarter.

• Clemson outrushed an opponent for the seventh time in eight games this season. The Tigers have outrushed opponents in 18 of their 22 games since 2017 and are 18-0 when outrushing opponents in that time frame. 

• Clemson’s 28 points in the second quarter were the most points in a quarter since Sept. 12, 2015 when the Tigers pinned 28 second-quarter points on Appalachian State.

• After a scoreless first quarter, Clemson held a 28-0 lead at halftime. Clemson has now outscored opponents by 108 points in the second quarter of games this season, their largest point differential in any single quarter this season.

• Clemson is now 92-8 when leading at halftime under Head Coach Dabo Swinney, including a perfect 18-0 mark since 2017.

• Clemson shut out an opponent in the first half for the third straight game and the fifth time this season. Dating back to last year, Clemson has shut out its opponents in the first half of nine of its last 13 games (24-0 vs. Florida State, 24-0 vs. NC State, 28-0 vs. Wake Forest, 21-0 vs. Georgia Southern and 27-0 vs. Furman in 2018; 21-0 vs. Miami, 20-0 vs. South Carolina, 38-0 vs. The Citadel and 17-0 vs. Florida State in 2017).

• Clemson’s captains for the contest were defensive end Austin Bryant, running back Adam Choice, defensive tackle Christian Wilkins and tight end Garrett Williams.

 

WITH THE WIN…

 

• Clemson has now opened a season 8-0 for the seventh time in program history and the third time in the last four years (1948, 1981, 2000, 2011, 2015, 2016 and 2018). Clemson earned conference titles in five of the previous six seasons in which it opened 8-0.

• Clemson has now won the first eight games of a season for the fourth time under Head Coach Dabo Swinney (2011, 2015, 2016 and 2018). All other coaches in Clemson history have combined for three 8-0 starts, including one each by Frank Howard, Danny Ford and Tommy Bowden.

• Clemson has now won four consecutive games against Florida State for the first time in series history. Clemson’s four-game winning streak against the Seminoles surpassed the Tigers’ previous longest in series history, beating a three-game streak from 2005-07.

• Clemson became the first school to defeat Florida State in ACC play in four consecutive years. Miami previously accomplished the feat prior to joining the ACC.

• Clemson earned its 12th all-time victory against Florida State.

• Clemson defeated the Seminoles in Tallahassee for the fifth time in history (1976, 1989, 2006, 2016 and 2018) and has now won back-to-back games in Tallahassee for the first time in series history.

• Clemson bucked a series trend that had seen the home team win 13 of the last 16 games between the two programs prior to Saturday. Of the three previous wins by the visiting teams, two of those squads went on to win the National Championship (Florida State in 2013, Clemson in 2016).

• Head Coach Dabo Swinney pushed his all-time record against Florida State to 6-5.

• Clemson secured its 18th victory in its last 19 true road games.

• Clemson earned its 25th victory in its last 28 games away from home, including neutral site contests.

• Clemson earned its seventh consecutive victory in the state of Florida, dating back to a 40-6 win against Oklahoma in the 2014 Russell Athletic Bowl in Orlando. Clemson won in the state of Florida for the first time since winning the national championship in Tampa to conclude the 2016 season.

• Clemson won the 26th of its last 27 games against ACC Atlantic Division opponents.

• Clemson defeated an ACC foe for the 30th time in its last 32 opportunities, including conference championship games, dating back to 2015.

• Clemson has now won 59 of their last 61 when leading at halftime.

• Clemson improved to 80-2 since 2011 when leading after three quarters.

• Clemson recorded a 25-14 advantage in first downs and is now 81-2 when recording more first downs than their opponent since 2011.

• Clemson won the turnover margin, 2-1, and now has a 42-3 mark when winning the turnover margin since 2011.

• Clemson extended its winning streak in Saturday games to 24 to extend the longest Saturday winning streak in school history. The 24-game streak is the longest of any school in the country.

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

 

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