Five Plays That Changed the Game as Clemson Defeats Florida State for the Seventh Consecutive Year

The Seminoles were a few plays away from pulling off the upset.

The lights were shining bright in Doak Campbell Stadium on Saturday night as the surging, playoff-hopeful Clemson Tigers came to town. On the flip side, Florida State was looking to snap a two game losing streak and correct its current downward trajectory. Tallahassee was alive with excitement, and after watching Tennessee upset Alabama earlier in the night, Seminole fans everywhere were chomping at the bit to give Clemson the same treatment and maybe even carry the goalposts deep into the heart of College Town. Amidst the plethora of injuries and the uncertainties surrounding FSU’s inconsistent play, the ‘Noles had their sights focused on what was sure to be a hard-fought contest against the invading Tigers. The student section was sold out; the recruits were in attendance; the stage was set. Unfortunately, the Tigers would prove to be too much for the Seminoles.

READ MORE: Kickoff time announced for Florida State's home game against Georgia Tech

Hearts were broken and upset hopes shattered in Tallahassee on Saturday as the Seminoles lost for the third time this season. Following their 7th straight loss to the Clemson Tigers, Florida State drops to 4-3 on the season and 2-3 in the conference. What was a promising 4-0 start on the season for FSU has taken a slight downturn with the losing streak now extended to three. Despite facing a large deficit early on, the Seminoles were faced with opportunities to cut into the Clemson lead and take the game. However, as defensive end Derrick McLendon said, “It was an execution thing.” The ‘Noles could not execute on some key moments throughout the game, (yes, we’ve all had that “middle 8” conversation with at least one other FSU fan this week) and ultimately came up short.

With a much-needed bye week on the horizon, Florida State will have time to get healthy and right the ship before entering the latter half of their season. Let’s review some key moments from the matchup against Clemson before I, too, take a bye week and spend next weekend watching college football free from any emotional distress.

1. Jordan Travis jukes a defender and scampers into the end zone for an early Florida State lead

There’s no sugarcoating it: The Florida State offense was wildly inconsistent in their two losses against Wake Forest and NC State, unable to string together full, four quarter performances. After witnessing the Wolfpack defense shut out the “Noles in the second half of last week’s matchup, many were left wondering how they would fare against a top-20 Clemson Tiger defense. Things could get ugly if quarterback Jordan Travis and the injury-riddled Seminole offense could not get back to their scoring ways. As Florida State took the field ready to receive the opening kickoff, the Florida State faithful were cautiously optimistic about which Florida State offense would show up on Saturday night.

Quarterback Jordan Travis and company set up on the 25 yard line to begin their opening drive of the game. On the first play from scrimmage, Travis would hit wide receiver Johnny Wilson in the flat for a gain of 7 yards, and two plays later, he connected with running back Lawrance Toafili on another screen on the flat for a gain of 14 yards. The Seminoles attacked the Clemson defense with a sense of urgency, and after a 3 yard rush by Toafili, the ‘Noles found themselves in Tiger territory in just five plays. Clemson fought to force FSU into a 3rd & 7 scenario but Travis found receiver Malik McClain over the middle to extend the drive. Florida State had a fresh set of downs on the Clemson 37-yard line when Jordan Travis handed the ball off to running back Trey Benson in the backfield. Benson charged his way through a massive running lane created by the Florida State offensive line and into the open field before being tracked down by the defense inside the red zone.

On 2nd & 12 from the Clemson 20 yard line, Travis lined up in the shotgun with Toafili positioned behind him. Prior to the snap, wide receiver Mycah Pittman motioned and established his position on the quarterback’s left side. Travis snapped the ball and ran a zone read with Pittman set to receive the handoff. The Clemson defender, whom the quarterback was reading, crashed hard on the handoff to Pittman. Properly reading this development, Travis pulled the ball last minute and took off running to his left. Clemson linebacker Barrett Carter was in position to meet the quarterback at the line of scrimmage, but Jordan Travis planted his foot in the ground, eluded the defender, and turned on the afterburners on his way to the end zone.

The 9 play, 75-yard opening drive yielded a touchdown, and the ‘Noles took an early lead against the Clemson Tigers.

2. Clemson quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei finds wide open receiver Antonio Williams for a deep touchdown to even up the game

Florida State was playing some near perfect football to open up this game, and the Seminoles appeared to be gaining momentum. After scoring on their opening drive, FSU held the Tigers to just three yards of total offense and forced a punt on Clemson’s opening drive. However, that momentum came to an abrupt end as Florida State’s offense was unable to capitalize on the ensuing drive. Jordan Travis was sacked by Clemson defensive lineman Myles Murphy on 3rd & 8 for a loss of 15 and a quick three and out for the ‘Noles.

Quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei returned to the field to helm the Clemson offense, down 7-0 midway through the first quarter. Running back Will Shipley was the benefactor on the first two plays from scrimmage, but the Tigers faced yet another third down early in the drive. Shipley powered his way through the teeth of the defense for a gain of 5 and a first down.

D.J. Uiagalelei dropped back in the pocket on first down looking for something developing deep. However, Defensive Coordinator Adam Fuller dialed up the pressure, and a blitzing Kevin Knowles II surged into the backfield unblocked. Unphased by the defensive back’s pressure, Uiagalelei stepped up and rocketed a pass down the right sideline into the arms of a wide open Clemson receiver. Antonio Williams had burned defensive back Akeem Dent, caught the pass from Uiagalelei in stride, and coasted into the end zone with ease.

The 59 yard touchdown pass sparked the quiet Clemson offense, put the Tigers on the board, and leveled the score at 7-7.

3. Jordan Travis fumbles the ball in FSU territory as time expires in the second quarter

Deep into the second quarter, these two teams continued to trade blows back and forth. Florida State responded to the long touchdown pass with a 93 yard touchdown drive of their own, but Clemson evened the game up at 14 shortly thereafter. Despite driving deep into Clemson territory on the ensuing drive, the ‘Noles were unable to convert on 4th & 2 and came up empty for the first time of the night. The turnover on downs allowed the Tigers to take a 17-14 lead on their next drive with a 47 yard field goal by kicker B.T. Potter.

With just under two minutes remaining in the first half, the Seminole offense was putting a decent drive together when Lawrance Toafili weaved his way through the Clemson defense and out of bounds around the 50 yard line. FSU had plenty of time remaining, 1:23 to be exact, and two timeouts at their disposal. Some miscommunication in the backfield between Jordan Travis and Toafili on first down led to a broken play and a rush of -2 yards. Electing to let the clock run, the 'Noles had to hustle if they wished to leave with points. Jordan Travis, alone in the backfield with five receivers in formation, snapped the ball and dropped back in the pocket. Defensive lineman Myles Murphy torched offensive lineman Robert Scott Jr. and poked the ball out as he sacked the quarterback. The defense recovered the fumble, and the Clemson offense turned the error into a touchdown in just 3 plays.

The fumble by Jordan Travis, which was the only turnover committed all night, fueled a 10 point swing in favor of the Tigers prior to the end of the first half. In the blink of an eye, Florida State looked down the barrel of a 24-14 deficit entering halftime. The Clemson Tigers, on the other hand, were riding a streak of 65 straight wins when leading at halftime.

4. Dabo Swinney dips into his bag of tricks and dials up a flea flicker for a touchdown

Miscues in the “Middle 8” continued to plague the Florida State Seminoles as the second half opened up. Clemson running back Will Shipley weaved his way through the field and was well on his way to returning Fitzgerald's kick for touchdown if not for an exhaustive effort by FSU’s Kalen DeLoach to reel him in for a chase-down tackle. Shipley may not have scored, but the 65 yard kickoff return placed Clemson on the Florida State 31 yard line to begin the second half.

D.J. Uiagalelei called for the snap and handed the ball off to running back Phil Mafah. Mafah ran the ball left before pitching to Antonio Williams on the reverse. The play did not stop there as Williams pitched the ball back to Uiagalelei, and things suddenly became clear: the flea flicker was in full effect. By the time the FSU defense diagnosed what was going on, Uiagalelei found a streaking Davis Allen for a touchdown. Uiagalelei’s touchdown throw to Allen would complete a phenomenal stat line for him, throwing for 15 of 23 for 203 yards and 3 touchdowns.

In just 19 seconds of game time, the Clemson Tigers had extended their lead to a staggering 17 points. Facing a score of 31-14, Florida State was all but written off by those watching with some fans even heading for the exits early. 

5. Despite a late Florida State rally, Clemson secures the onside kick to put the game away

Once again, the Florida State offense was struggling to find ways to extend drives and respond with points. These problems were only exacerbated after a failed puntrooskie attempt by the ‘Noles on 4th & 5 eventually led to an additional 3 points for the Clemson lead. The bright side? FSU’s defense would keep Clemson off of the score board for the remainder of the game (regardless of whether or not Dabo let off the gas, this point remains true). Florida State and Clemson would trade punts before the Seminoles would get another opportunity to cut into the Tiger lead.

Still down 34-14, Florida State received the ball in the third quarter and went on a 9 play, 78 yard drive down into the Clemson 2 yard line. Jordan Travis attempted to find Johnny Wilson on a fade for 1st & Goal and 2nd & Goal, but both pass attempts fell incomplete just out of reach of Wilson’s outstretched hands. Travis lost 2 yards on 3rd & Goal, and the Seminoles faced a 4th & Goal from the Clemson 4 yard line with just under 13 minutes left in the game. Jordan Travis dropped back to pass on 4th down, but the Clemson defensive lineman K.J. Henry batted the ball down at the line; another empty drive from the ‘Noles.

Clemson’s next offensive drive was yet another three and out, but not before the Tigers took even more time off the clock. Despite sitting with a comfortable lead, things started to get interesting in the waning moments of the 4th quarter.

Florida State would come out inspired on offense, moving the ball down into the red zone in just 4 plays. On 3rd & 1 from the Clemson 49, Lawrence Toafili took the handoff, made one, hard cut, and powered down to the Clemson 26. The Seminoles immediately followed that play up with a Jordan Travis strike to Johnny Wilson over the middle of the field for a gain of 22 yards and a fresh set of downs inside the Clemson 5 yard line. Unlike their previous trip to the red zone, the ‘Noles would cap this trip off with a touchdown. On 3rd & Goal, Jordan Travis rolled right and delivered a strike to open receiver Ja’Khi Douglas sitting in the end zone. Finally, the Seminoles had found the end zone and cut the Clemson lead to 34-21.

Clemson’s offense continued to run the ball in an attempt to drain the clock even further. After a drive that went on for 10 plays, over 5 minutes and 30 seconds of game time, and forced FSU to burn all three of their timeouts, the Tigers finally punted the ball away to the Seminoles. Florida State took over with 3:45 remaining in the game, and Jordan Travis willed his team down the field.

Florida State went on a 7 play, 94 yard drive that took just under 1 minute and 35 seconds. Travis found Camren McDonald for a gain of 7 on first down, and attempted to find him again on second down but the ball fell incomplete. On 3rd &3, Travis spun out of a near sack, cut back to the middle of the field, and hopped his way between two defenders (and the referee) for a first down. He connected with Markeston Douglas for a gain of 26 yards, and then found Douglas again for a gain of 29 yards. At the Clemson 25 yard line, Travis dropped back but was quickly flushed out of the pocket by the Clemson pressure. He rolled right, scanned downfield, and threw a dime at the goal line that was high pointed by Kentron Poitier and reeled in for a touchdown. Jordan Travis went 4 for 6 for 84 yards and 1 touchdown through the air and ran for 10 yards on the drive (yes, he was involved in some way in every play on this drive). In fact, Travis would complete an impressive stat line of his own on the whole night: 24 for 42 for 254 yards and 2 touchdowns through the air as well as 14 carries for 64 yards and 1 touchdown on the ground.

Two straight scoring drives by the Seminoles had brought them within striking distance. However, with no timeouts remaining and only 2:17 left in the contest, Florida State would have to secure the onside kick to have any chance. Unfortunately, the onside kick attempt would take a high bounce before reaching 10 yards and fall quite easily into the arms of a Clemson receiver. The only thing left to do was watch the Tigers kneel the ball out and watch the clock hit zero.

Florida State showed some fight against the Clemson Tigers, but it was yet another case of “too little, too late.” Miscues in the middle 8 set the Seminoles behind, and they were unable to fully recover from the hole they found themselves in after yielding 27 unanswered points to the Tigers. 

FSU now falls to 4-3 on the season and finally enters a much needed bye week. 

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