Florida State vs. Clemson, 23-13: Full highlights, final score and more

Clemson clawed their way to victory against Florida State to stay undefeated

Florida State Seminoles running back Dalvin Cook put his team on the board on just the second play of the game against the No. 1 ranked Clemson Tigers with a 75-yard rushing touchdown. After that play, it looked like the Noles might come into Death Valley and knock around the Tigers, but things settled down quickly. Field goals were the only other scoring going on in the second half as both Sean Maguire and Deshaun Watson were shaky and making mistakes at the quarterback position. Most notably, Watson spiked the ball on third down in the red zone as the end of the half neared, causing Clemson to settle for a field goal and go into halftime trailing 10-6.

However, Watson showed a ton of maturity to start the second half as he quickly put his Tigers on top on a screen pass that went 38 yards for the score to cap off an 80-yard drive. FSU tied the game at 13-13 on the ensuing drive and the deadlocked battle waged on well into the fourth quarter. Watson led a drive midway through the fourth quarter that led to a field goal, but it was the Tigers defense that came up bigger on the ensuing drive as they forced turnover on downs for the Seminoles.

Coming up short and giving Clemson the ball back put the immediate onus on the Florida State defense to keep them within striking distance. However, Wayne Gallman dashed those hopes as he busted out a 25-yard touchdown run to give Clemson a 10-point lead with just over two minutes left on the clock. Florida State didn’t help themselves as they threw an incomplete pass and then lost a fumble on the ensuing drive. Clemson was able to run out the clock and pick up a huge, hard-fought victory.

Three stars

Deshaun Watson, despite questionable decisions in the first half, showed up big when the Tigers needed him to get them in the game in the second half. The Clemson quarterback finished going 28-42 for 297 yards and a touchdown while also rushing for another 107 yards.

Dalvin Cook, who Florida State was unsure about the status of at the start of the week, unleashed a monster performance on the big stage, carrying the ball 21 times for 194 yards and a touchdown.

Wayne Gallman had tough go of it for most of the afternoon against Florida State, but the Clemson running back still managed 103 yards on the ground, including the rushing touchdown that clinched this game for the Tigers late in the fourth quarter.

Highlights

Odds

Though Clemson picked up a huge victory in this game, they failed to cover the spread as they were 12-point favorites in this one. The often ugly and disjointed affair also resulted in the two teams hitting the under on the line set at 54.5.

Next Week

The Seminoles will be back in Tallahassee next weekend for their final ACC game of the year against the North Carolina State Wolfpack.

Clemson will have to go on the road next week as they go north to take on the Syracuse Orange.