By Will Vandervort
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — When wide receiver Sammy Watkins threw a 52-yard touchdown pass that put No. 10 Clemson in front of fourth-ranked Florida State by two touchdowns in the third quarter, quarterback Tajh Boyd thought this one was in the bank.
“It’s 28-14. This is it,” Boyd said. “I’m looking in other guys eyes. We are about to win this game and drop 49 points. Things looked so much clearer. But that’s why you play football. Things can change just like that. It’s rapid. The game does not stop because you’re winning the game.”
And unfortunately for the Tigers the game did not stop there. Florida State rallied to outscore the Tigers 35-9 from that point in route to a 49-37 victory Saturday at Doak Campbell Stadium.
“It is a terrible feeling,” Boyd said. “Words can’t really describe it. This is a hard loss. It was a hard fought game by both teams. I did not know what to expect out of their defense, but I do feel like they have one of the better teams in the country.
“But we have one of the best offensive and we will be able to build off this. I’m very excited about what this team is able to do and the future of this program.”
Florida State (4-0, 2-0) came into the ACC clash leading the nation in total defense, scoring defense, run defense and pass defense, but by the end of the first quarter the Tigers had amassed 168 yards and had a 14-7 lead. By halftime, they had 253 yards and took a 21-14 lead into the break.
“We had them where we wanted them and had them where we needed them to be, but we did not execute to the fullest,” Boyd said.
After Watkins 52-yard touchdown pass to Ellington with 11:58 to play in the third quarter, Clemson (3-1, 0-1) led the Seminoles off the hook. The Tigers added a 50-yard Chandler Catanzaro field goal on its next possession, but after that, the offense went into hiding.
Florida State forced three straight three-and-outs and intercepted a Boyd pass, then followed that up by forcing another three-and-out. Clemson had only 121 yards of total offense after Watkins’ touchdown pass.
“We did not execute the way that we should have. All we can do is keep working,” Boyd said. “It got to the point where I thought maybe we were trying to do too much. The only thing we can do is keep trying to improve.
That’s all we can do. I feel we will grow the most and mature in situations like this. You are disappointed, but you are not disappointed to the point where one loss gives us two losses. That’s what we can’t do. That’s why we need to grow from this and get ready for (Boston College). We have not won up there in a while so we need to go up there and do our jobs.”
Clemson finished the night with 426 yards, the most allowed by the Florida State defense since the Tigers racked up 435 yards in last year’s game. Despite what happened late in the second half, Boyd says they can pull a lot of confidence off Saturday’s game.
“It is not to the point that it affects us, but the defense gets more into it,” he said. “After while a defense can get to the point where they feel like they have lost it. But if they get a free play here or there, then they are right back in it. You can’t do that against a great football team. We were in a situation to win the football game, but we just did not do what we needed to do to go out there and finish it. That was the most disappointing part about this game.
“There was something we missed out there. Competing wise, I don’t think the guys could have competed anymore. They are one of those defenses that will finish in the top 5 in the national rankings at the end of the year, but I thought we did a pretty decent job.”
Boston College kickoff time is set. Kickoff for the Boston College game, which is set for Chestnut Hill, MA, will kick off at 3:30 p.m., and will be broadcasted on ESPN2.
Big nights. Running back Andre Ellington and wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins both had career highs in receiving yards for a one play. Hopkins scored on a career-best 60-yard touchdown in the first quarter, while Ellington hauled in a pass from Watkins that covered 52 yards.