Written by Adrian Beecher
(Tallahassee, FL) - Turnovers led by high intensity defense has the Clemson Tigers out in front of FSU in a 17-14 dog fight at the half at Doak Campbell Stadium. Clemson’s Deshaun Watson has completed 14 of 19 passes for 146 yards and 1 TD through the air, along with an interception and 57 yards rushing. For the Noles, leader Deondre Francois has completed 10 of 19 passes for 187 yards and a TD and an interception as well. Dalvin Cook is leading the FSU rushing attack with 8 carries for just 33 yards.
Clemson started the game with possession and drove straight down the field, picking up a 1st down on 4th down and then found themselves in the endzone on a 1 yard TD run from Wayne Gallman. This made it 7-0 Tigers with 11:05 left in the 1st quarter. FSU’s opening drive started out promising, but didn’t end in the same way. After getting down to the 19 yard line of Clemson, a 15 yard personal foul and a sack on Deondre Francois pushed the Noles back to a 2nd and 20. They were able to pick that up, then on the next set of downs, a run for a loss by Dalvin Cook along with another sack on Francois, pushed the Noels outside of field goal range, forcing them to punt. Their punt sailed into the back of the endzone, giving the Tigers a 1st and 10 at their 20-yard line. It then took Deshaun Watson and the Tigers 10 plays to go 80 yards down field as Watson connected with Hunter Renfrow along the right sideline for a 4-yard TD pass. This made it 14-0 Clemson with 1:41 left to play in the 1st quarter. FSU’s 2nd possession of the game ended quickly with a 3 and out. A short punt set up the Tigers with a 1st and 10 at the Noles’ 49. The Tigers were unable to take advantage of the field position as FSU forced them into a 3 and out as well. Clemson’s first punt of the night pinned the Noles’ back at their 7-yard line. This then lead FSU into another quick 3 and out. After being setup at the Noles’ 47 yard line to start the drive, Clemson looked to go up 3 scores. However on 3rd and 1, Deshaun Watson threw an ill-advised pass that was tracked down and intercepted by Noles’ cornerback Marquez White, setting up FSU with a 1st and 10 at their own 40-yard line. Then a meltdown ensued for the Clemson defense. A total of 3 pass interference penalties were called on the Clemson defense, one was negated by a FSU holding call. However, the penalties pushed the Noles deep into Tiger territory and led to a 4 yard rushing TD by Dalvin Cook as FSU made it 14-7 with just 8:20 left in the half. The Noles defense then stood tall, forcing Clemson into a punt on their ensuing possession. FSU’s Deondre Francois on a 1st and 10 from the Noles’ 32-yard line, was hit hard as he passed it deep down field. The pass sailed on him and was intercepted by Jadar Johnson, giving the Tigers possession at their own 39-yard line. 8 plays, 2 minutes and 56 seconds later kicker Greg Huegel for the Tigers put a 23 yarder through the uprights to make it 17-7 Clemson with just 1:44 left on the clock. FSU then answered on a quick moving drive as Francois completed passes for 40 and 23 yards before connecting with Nyqwan Murray for a 5 yard TD play that was initially ruled incomplete. However after a review on the field, it was determined that Murray got a foot down in the end zone, cutting the Clemson lead to just 3 points before the half.
Written by Adrian Beecher
Clemson, SC - DeShawn Watson completed a career-high 39 passes on 52 attempts for 378 yards through the air, adding a 2 TD completion's and adding his first rushing TD of the season to help lead the turnover happy Clemson Tigers to a 24-17 overtime victory over NC State.
NC State started off the game with possession and was able to get into Tiger territory quickly, as Ryan Finley connected with Jaylen Samuels on a 38-yard completion on the first play from scrimmage. However, the excitement would all but end for the Wolfpack after that on their first drive as they were unable to get anything else going and they had to settle for a 44-yard field goal, which would be missed by kicker Kyle Bambard. The Tigers then put together a promising drive that led them into Wolfpack territory. However, Wayne Gallman fumble would stall out the drive and give the ball right back to NC State. Then Finley again led the Wolfpack into tiger territory, this time into the redzone. However, penalties would prove crucial as two chop blocks set the Wolfpack back to a 3rd and 35, which they were unable to convert and thus forced to punt. Deshaun Watson then led the Tigers on a 13 play, 77-yard drive that was capped off by a 25-yard field goal from Greg Huegel to give Clemson the 3-0 lead with 1:17 left in the 1st quarter. NC State would again get back into Tiger territory as the 2nd quarter started, but their miscues would continue. This time, it was Ryan Finley being intercepted by Clemson’s K’Von Wallace, to give the Tigers the ball back. However, the Wolfpack defense stood tall, forcing Clemson into a quick 3 and out. Clemson quickly returned the favor, forcing a 3 and out of their own. Then the Tigers drove down the field from their 35-yard line, getting the ball just inches away from the goal line. However, the Wolfpack defense was able to stand tall again and force a turnover on downs. This gave NC State the ball at their half-yard line, and they started to chip away at the field. 14 plays and 88 yards later, the Wolfpack found themselves in a tie game with the No. 3 team in the country as Kyle Bambard nailed a 28-yard field goal with just 2:08 left in the half. The 2 minutes left on the clock were more than enough for Watson and the Tigers as they put together a quick 10 play 75-yard drive, capping it off with a 13 yard TD pass from Watson to Mike Williams. This gave the Tigers a 10-3 lead at the half.
Clemson’s start to the second half was one that they will soon want to forget. On their first play from scrimmage, Deshaun Watson threw a pass that was intercepted by Mike Stevens and returned for a TD, which tied the game at 10. It was the first pick-six of Watson’s career.
The negatives continued for the Tigers on their second possession. After driving 78 yards down the field to the goal line, Tyshon Dye fumbled the ball on 1st and goal, with the Wolfpack recovering. NC State, however, was unable to put anything together and their offense was quickly off the field after a punt. On the Tigers 3rd possession of the 2nd half, misfortune once again struck, in the form of another fumble. This time, it was Mike Williams fumbling as he was being tackled and the Wolfpack again recovered and ran this one all the way back to the Tigers 26-yard line. The Tigers defense would come up big with a field goal block from defensive lineman Christian Wilkins to keep the game tied up at 10. “Coach (Dan) Brooks always calls the field-goal blocks, and it was a good call on his part. It set us up perfectly, you had Dexter (Lawrence) and Carlos (Watkins) manhandling the guards inside, so I was able to take advantage of my guy one-on-one. I ripped inside and went up. I knew we needed a big play.” Said Wilkins of the block after the game. Then the Tigers put together a scoring drive, going 77 yards in 10 plays, capping off the drive with a 4 yard TD run from Watson to make it 17-10 with 1:03 left in the 3rd. Surprisingly enough, it was Deshaun’s first rushing TD of the season. As the 4th quarter got underway, the Wolfpack did all they could to keep the game close, answering the Tigers scoring drive with a 75 yard 14 play drive of their own that ended in a 2 yard rushing TD from Matthew Dayes. This tied things up at 17 with 11:23 left in the 4th. The next two drives by Clemson and NC State ate all of that 11:23 on the clock away. Clemson’s drive ended in a punt, and the Wolfpack had the ball on the Tigers 16-yard line with just 2 seconds left and a chance to knock off the No. 3 ranked Tigers with a field goal. Unfortunately for the NC State faithful, kicker, Kyle Bambard's 33-yard field goal, missed wide right, thus sending the game into overtime. In Overtime, the Tigers had possession first and were able to get into the endzone, as Watson found Artavius Scott for a 10 yard TD completion on 2nd and goal. This came after 1st and goal and a 9-yard loss on a fumble that was recovered by Watson. Then it was NC State’s turn to pull off some magic. Unfortunately for the Wolfpack, the magic had run out. On the first play from scrimmage, Ryan Finley was intercepted in the end zone by Marcus Edmond, sealing the Tigers victory. The catalyst in this one was penalties, in all; the Wolfpack had 120 yards in penalties to just 40 for Clemson. In fact, the Tigers did not pick up their first penalty until the 12-minute mark in the 4th quarter. This helped to even out the -2 turnover ratio. Despite that turnover ratio, NC State head coach Dave Doren assured the media that there are no moral victories, “Let me say this right now...I’m not going to give you guys a lot. Two years ago, it was 41-0. Today, we played them into overtime with a chance to beat them and we didn’t. It was not a moral victory...we could have won that game. We were one play away from having a masterpiece today, and we just didn’t.” For Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney, he gave NC State their due credit, and addressed the turnover’s post game, “We’ve had nine turnovers in our last two home games here, but obviously we’re finding ways to win against good teams. Today is a little disappointing because we get a stop on downs, then turn two over on the goal line and then we have a pick-six, and you can’t script it any better for NC State, so you have to give them credit. We moved the ball up and down, and there’s something to be said for finding a way to win, and that’s all I can say. It’s not always pretty and you have to win games like that along the way.” With the win, Clemson improves to 7-0 on the season as they head into their bye week. Their next matchup will be on the road at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee, Florida against the Florida State Seminoles on October 29th.
Written by Adrian Beecher
Clemson, SC- Deshaun Watson completed 18 of 25 passes for 148 yards through the air, adding a TD completion to Mike Williams in the final seconds of the first half to give Clemson a 10-3 lead over the NC State Wolfpack at the half in Death Valley.
NC State started off the game with possession and was able to get into Tiger territory quickly, as Ryan Finley connected with Jaylen Samuels on a 38 yard completion on the first play from scrimmage. However, the excitement would all but end for the Wolfpack after that on their first drive as they were unable to get anything else going and they had to settle for a 44-yard field goal, which would be missed by kicker Kyle Bambard. The Tigers then put together a promising drive that led them into Wolfpack territory, however Wayne Gallman fumble would stall out the drive and give the ball right back to NC State. Then Finley again led the Wolfpack into tiger territory, this time into the redzone. However, penalties would prove crucial as two chop block set the Wolfpack back to a 3rd and 35, which they were unable to convert and were forced to punt. Deshaun Watson then led the Tigers on a 13 play, 77 yard drive that was capped off by a 25 yard field goal from Greg Huegel to give Clemson the 3-0 lead with 1:17 left in the 1st quarter. NC State would again get back into Tiger territory as the 2nd quarter started, but their miscues would continue. This time it was Ryan Finley being intercepted by Clemson’s K’Von Wallace, give the Tigers the ball back. However, the Wolfpack defense stood tall, forcing Clemson into a quick 3 and out. Clemson quickly returned the favor, forcing a 3 and out of their own. Then the Tigers drove down the field from their own 35 yard line, getting the ball just inched away from the goal line. However, the Wolfpack defense was able to stand tall and force a turnover on downs. This gave NC State the ball at their own half-yard line, and they started to chip away at the field. 14 plays and 88 yards later, the Wolfpack found themselves in a tie game with the No. 3 team in the country as Kyle Bambard nailed a 28-yard field goal with just 2:08 left in the half. The 2 minutes left on the clock were more than enough for Watson and the Tigers as they put together a quick 10 play 75 yard drive, capping it off with a 13 yard TD pass from Watson to Mike Williams. This gave the Tigers a 10-3 lead at the half. |
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December 2017
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