Clemson fends off a Seminole comeback

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – It’s fitting that Dabo Swinney broke the ACC’s all-time record for total wins on the field where Bobby Bowden won so many games.

Swinney became the ACC leader in wins thanks to No. 15 Clemson’s 29-13 win Saturday over Florida State at Bobby Bowden Field. Swinney now has 174 career wins, one more than Bowden’s 173 from 1992 to 2009.

Quarterback Cade Klubnik threw for 235 yards and ran for another 62, accounting for two touchdowns. Freshman kicker Nolan Hauser also made field goals of 26, 38, 25, 31 yards and 25 yards.

Klubnik found wide receiver Antonio Williams for a 57-yard touchdown pass on the Tigers’ third possession of the night. On the second play of the drive, Klubnik went deep over the middle to find Williams, who bounced off two FSU players and then rumbled into the end zone for the game’s first touchdown with 3:20 left in the first quarter.

Williams’ TD gave the Tigers a 10-0 lead at the time.

After FSU quarterback Brock Glenn had his pass intercepted by Clemson corner Avieon Terrell on the Seminoles and returned to midfield, Klubnik threw a tunnel pass to freshman TJ Moore, who came out in the open field and raced 23 yards for an easy touchdown.

The Moore TD gave the Tigers (4-1, 3-0 ACC) a 17-0 lead with two seconds left in the first.

Glenn later recovered and threw two touchdowns. One went to Amaree Williams for 13 yards in the second quarter and another to Ja’Khi Douglas with 9:36 yards left in the fourth quarter.

The Douglas touchdown moved the Noles (1-5, 1-4 ACC) to 23-13 at the time and gave them some hope of a comeback. However, the two-conversion attempt failed.

On Clemson’s next offensive play, running back Phil Mafah (25-154) broke off a 59-yard run that set up Hauser’s fourth field goal of the night, a 31-yard kick with 6:38 left to take a 26-13 lead achieve.

Hauser’s final field goal (25 yards) with 1:56 left sealed the victory for the Tigers.

Write history

Clemson won its fourth straight game in Tallahassee. It is the first time in this series that the Tigers have won four straight games at Doak Campbell Stadium.

The Tigers became just the fourth team ever to win four consecutive road games against Florida State in Tallahassee, joining Florida (six in a row from 1966-76), Houston (four from 1966-78) and Miami (five from 1957-77). and four from 1966 to 1976) to 1981-87).

Stingy neighborhood

Clemson outscored FSU 17-0 in the first quarter. The Tigers have now outscored their first five opponents 90-0 in the first quarter this year.

Only negative

Two of Hauser’s field goals were blocked. One was a 39-yard attempt in the third quarter and the other was a 25-yard field in the third quarter.

Injuries

Clemson defensive end Peter Woods returned to action Saturday night. He didn’t start the game, but came into the game on the Seminoles’ third offensive possession of the night and continued to play for quite a while for the rest of the game.

Wide receiver Troy Stellato also returned to action after missing last week’s game.

The Tigers did get a scare in the first quarter when Klubnik carried the ball on a scramble play, but instead of slipping, he took a hit that kept him on the ground for a second. He had to leave the game for one play, but came back in on the next play.

Next

Clemson stays on the road and heads to Wake Forest next Saturday for a lunch kickoff in Winston-Salem, N.C. The Demon Deacons rallied to beat NC State in Raleigh, NC on Saturday