SportsDirect Inc. staff
Sep 21, 2014
No. 1 Florida State 23, No. 24 Clemson 17 (OT): Karlos Williams busted a 12-yard touchdown run in overtime as the host Seminoles survived a scare from the Tigers without Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Jameis Winston.
Sean Maguire went 21-of-39 for 305 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions in place of Winston, who was suspended for yelling a vulgar phrase on campus Tuesday. Rashad Greene caught nine passes for 135 yards and a touchdown while Williams finished with 45 yards on the ground — 25 in overtime — as Florida State (3-0, 1-0 ACC) extended its winning streak to 19 games overall and 16 straight against ACC teams.
Freshman Deshaun Watson came off the bench to go 19-of-28 for 266 yards and run for a touchdown for Clemson (1-2, 0-1), which never has beaten a top-ranked team. C.J. Davidson led the Tigers with 54 rushing yards but also had a key fumble when Clemson was driving for a potential winning score late in the fourth.
Roberto Aguayo and Ammon Lakip traded field goals before D.J. Howard's 1-yard plunge gave Clemson a 10-3 halftime lead. Mario Pender's 1-yard TD run with 11:05 left in the third quarter pulled the Seminoles even, but Watson capped a 64-yard drive with a 2-yard TD run with 11:44 to go in the fourth to put the Tigers back on top. Maguire's uneven night turned upward when he found a wide-open Greene for a 74-yard score down the right sideline to tie it with 6:04 remaining.
The next series didn't end as well, as Maguire overthrew his receiver and was picked off by Jadar Johnson, setting up the Tigers at the Florida State 26 for a potential winning drive. But Davidson's fumble two plays later gave the ball back to the Seminoles, who were content to go to overtime. Florida State stuffed Adam Choice on fourth-and-1 to end Clemson's possession in overtime without points, and Williams broke runs of 13 and 12 yards to put it away.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Florida State's three first-half points were its fewest since 2012 versus Florida, which also was the last time the Seminoles failed to score a first-half touchdown. … Greene has a reception in 32 straight games. … Clemson drove inside the 20 seven times but scored on only three of them, with two missed field goals and two turnovers.