Florida State falls to No. 15 Clemson, drops to 1-5 on season
It wasn’t enough for a victory, and it might not even have been enough to give Florida State fans a great deal of confidence for the second half of the season.
But the FSU youth movement on offense showed some signs of promise in Saturday night’s 29-13 loss to No. 15 Clemson at Doak Campbell Stadium.
With redshirt freshman Brock Glenn making his first start of the year at quarterback and several other first- and second-year players making significant contributions, the Seminoles’ passing attack at least gave them a chance to be competitive.
Despite the 16-point final margin, it was a 10-point game midway through the fourth quarter, and Glenn finished the night with 228 yards and two touchdowns on 23-of-41 passing. His two passing touchdowns tied for Florida State’s season high, reached only once in five starts by senior DJ Uiagalelei.
Glenn’s 23 completions were one better than Uiagalelei’s season high of 22. And his 228 passing yards were the Seminoles’ second-best total of the year.
With the loss, Florida State falls to 1-5 on the season and 1-4 in the ACC. Clemson improves to 4-1 and 3-0.
After falling behind 17-0 in the first quarter, Florida State showed some life in the second quarter, putting together an eight-play, 75-yard touchdown drive. The score came on a 13-yard touchdown strike from Glenn to freshman tight end Amaree Williams.
But Clemson tacked on two more field goals before halftime to take a 23-7 advantage into the break.
After a scoreless third quarter, Florida State sliced its deficit to 23-13 early in the fourth quarter on a 12-yard TD throw from Glenn to Ja’Khi Douglas.
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Florida State’s leading receiver was freshman tight end Landen Thomas with a career-high seven catches for 80 yards. Sophomore Hykeem Williams added four catches for 53 yards.
Florida State was actually fortunate to only be trailing by 16 points at the half, as the Tigers racked up more than 300 yards of offense in the first two quarters.
Clemson’s offense had seven possessions in the first half, and the Tigers gained at least 50 yards on six of them; they scored five times and had one field goal blocked. The only time Florida State’s defense got a stop in the first half was the very first drive.
Florida State’s special-teams unit blocked two field goals for the game — one by defensive back Edwin Joseph and one by defensive end Patrick Payton.
Clemson finished the game with 500 yards of total offense, and the Tigers limited Florida State to 22 rushing yards on 23 carries.
Florida State will have next weekend off and return to action on Friday, Oct. 18, at Duke.
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