FSU Survives Overtime Scare, Tops Clemson

Without their star quarterback and against a ranked conference rival, the No. 1 FSU Seminoles tonight extended their school-record winning streak to 19 consecutive wins. Florida State needed overtime and a plethora of key plays to top the No. 22 Clemson Tigers, 23-17, and the defending champs gutted out a win that, although not pretty, speaks volumes about a team facing adversity coming together.

Growing Pains

The big debut of the night, of course, was that of redshirt-sophomore quarterback Sean Maguire, who made his first start in place of suspended QB Jameis Winston. Simply put, Maguire struggled to look comfortable in the offense. He often looked like a player who spends most his time practicing with other guys– which, as QB2, is exactly what he does.

Maguire struggled early especially, which, considering the magnitude of the stage, had to be expected. He was just 6 of 17 at halftime. He missed open receivers, threw behind those who were in space, stared guys down, and often held the ball far too long. He was sacked five times on the night for a total loss of 49 yards.

He looked more comfortable in the second half, and finished a respectable 21 of 39 for 305 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. The picks — both of which came in the fourth quarter — were a problem that very nearly handed Clemson the game. But his 74-yard double-move TD strike to Rashad Greene was perfectly thrown and the game’s biggest play.

Maguire leaned heavily on Greene and TE Nick O’Leary. The former finished with nine grabs for 135 yards and a score, while O’Leary made six catches for 78 yards. Per Maguire, that strategy came directly from Jameis, whom he called his top supporter in preparing for his first start. According to Maguire, Winston told him “when in doubt, find 80 or find 35.”

‘Noles Struggle Up Front– Until…

Florida State’s offensive woes cannot all be placed on Maguire, of course. FSU got beat up front frequently on both sides of the ball. Clemson’s Vic Beasley sped by FSU’s Cam Erving often early, finishing the first half with a pair of sacks, but Erving improved as the game progressed. Tiger Stephone Anthony had a sack and a TFL as well.

Florida State, on the other hand, showed a complete inability, once again, to get to the opposing quarterback. Through twelve quarters of play (through the end of regulation tonight), the ‘Noles had just one sack.

But late in the game, the ‘Noles excelled. Eddie Goldman played extremely well late, causing a key fumble on what could have been a game-winning Clemson drive deep in Florida State territory. He also registered FSU’s second sack of the year on Clemson’s OT drive that concluded with the Seminole defense stoning the Tigers on a fourth and one.

FSU’s ground game also struggled early. The Seminole’s rushing total was in negative yardage at halftime, and only finished at 13 yards.  But, again, when it mattered most, the running game resurfaced. Karlos Williams had his two longest runs of the night — for 13 and 12 yards, respectively — to find the end zone and secure the win on the FSU OT possession.

Survival Amid Adversity

This looked, for much of the night, to be the end to FSU’s winning streak. There would be no Jameis heroics. The running game was stale. And Deshaun Watson is every bit the real deal for the Tigers. But FSU found enough to keep this close. Yes, Clemson missed two big field goals, but if those drives end with touchdowns instead of stops, that’s a non-issue.

The Seminoles did what they had to do to earn the driver’s seat in the ACC Atlantic– they scratched and clawed, one possession at a time, one play at at a time, to give themselves a shot late. And when those late opportunities came, they did what champions do: they made plays whereas the team in the losing locker room left them on the field.

Jimbo Fisher summed it up well after the game: “We’re building something special here. I love what we’re building. We just got to continue to grow with it. For a young team, the youth on this team, can’t be prouder, can’t be prouder. It was a tough week, but we’re ready to move on.”