In a close and low-scoring game, No. 16 Florida State blew its first-half lead to top-ranked Clemson.
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Who will start at QB for the Seminoles this Saturday is a mystery as I write this. The linebacker stripped Rudolph of the football after he gained 26 yards on a reception and the Noles saw their three-game win streak against the Tigers come to an end.
With the win, Clemson booked its first appearance in the ACC Championship Game since 2011.
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Clemson vs. Florida State all-time: FSU leads the all-time series 20-8 and is 8-5 against the Tigers in Clemson.
Ohio State beat Minnesota 28-14 and moved to No. 2 in the poll, which comes two days before the College Football Playoff rankings are released for the second time this season on Tuesday. Oh, that was a bad thing, a game in 2013 starting with two undefeated teams and the best team the Tigers had in years and the worst thing of all: Legitimate hope to win the ACC and plan for a national title run.
This game will be key as the only loss Clemson has had when Deshaun Watson played most of a game was last year’s heartbreaker in Tallahassee. The Tigers, though, have aspirations beyond just a conference title.
As expected, the Clemson Tigers have secured the No. 1 ranking in the latest Associated Press Top 25 poll. At 7-1 and ranked 16th, FSU now sits on the edge of any playoff discussion. He has thrown for 1,659 yards on 67.2 percent completions with 11 TDs and just one INT on the season.
Notre Dame transfer Everett Golson missed a second straight contest after suffering a concussion.
As a Senior at Florida State, I have witness only four losses in a period of four years; a pretty good record, I would say.
“We needed to get him dialed in”, Swinney said. He played a heck of a game. Throughout the game, the Seminole defenders got their hands on passes, with five pass breakups in total.
Brice has programs such as Boston College, California, Clemson, Michigan State and West Virginia in hot pursuit. The Tigers stopped Cook on third and fourth down runs in the fourth quarter with the Seminoles (7-2, 5-2) a yard from a first down.
The Florida State defense, meanwhile, will be tested by the most risky and efficient offense it has seen this season. After the first week of the season, there were 10 SEC teams ranked.
Florida State was not going to concede anything, not as the three-time defending ACC champion. RB Wayne Gillman rushed for 172 yards on 31 attempts and he caught three passes for 19 yards.
On defense, freshman safety Derwin James has emerged over the last few weeks, and he has a chance to introduce himself to the nation on Saturday. Despite, or possibly due to the extended exposure, quarterback mobility had not been a problem for FSU entering Saturday, as they had kept the opposing quarterback below their current season average for rushing yards in five of their seven games before Clemson.
Clemson co-offensive coordinator Jeff Scott said Watson’s best ability is inside the helmet in making fast, smart decisions that keep the Tigers moving. I would agree, only perhaps its time for the Tigers to turn the tables on those who ridiculed them and use the term to describe a team who doesn’t quit, who competes in all phases, and who believes in each other without exception. Now that you can see that Clemson ran 85 plays to Florida State’s 59 and had 29 first downs to Florida State’s 14, now that you watched it all. “There’s no shame in losing a ballgame”. “Heck yeah. But if we were 4-4, I’d be just as excited about playing this week”.
“We’re going to show Dalvin Cook why he should have come to Clemson by the end of the night”.
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On four different occasions, the projected top 10 pick ended Clemson drives.
