CLEMSON — Clemson’s much-maligned defense has held Florida State to just a single touchdown here in the first half as the Tigers have taken an 18-7 lead into the break.

The Noles have had some opportunities to get more points on the board, but they’ve just failed to take advantage of them. Sometimes you need a little luck, and the Tigers have absolutely caught a couple of breaks.

Halftime Analysis

Fast Start? Not Quite

This offense hasn’t really been known for its fast starts, but Garrett Riley’s unit got on the board quickly in this one. After receiving the opening kickoff, the offense went on a 13-play, 75-yard scoring drive capped off by a 4-yard touchdown by Cade Klubnik. Clay Swinney then punched it in for a successful 2-point conversion, putting the Tigers up 8-0 after the opening possession.

The only problem was that, instead of keeping the pressure on, the offense went three-and-out on its next three series, including an inexplicable gimmicky play call that saw the offensive linemen basically lie down, in turn allowing Klubnik to be sacked.

Klubnik also missed a wide-open Antonio Williams on a 3rd and 4. He never even saw him. Clemson actually had a 3 on 2 situation on that side of the field on that play, something Klubnik should have recognized presnap.

A Little Luck

The Tigers have been the victim of a couple of more coverage busts here in the first half. Fortunately, FSU has not been able to take advantage of them. The biggest came when Sammy Brown failed to pick up TE Randy Pittman on a 4th-and-2, leaving him wide open. Luckily for Clemson, Pittman dropped a Tommy Castellanos pass, allowing the Tigers to take over on downs. Two plays later, Klubnik used a flea-flicker to hit Williams for a 34-yard touchdown strike, extending the lead to 15-0.

Squirrel White also got behind the coverage early in the second quarter but Castellanos overshot him by about 10 yards. Two plays that should have been touchdowns for FSU actually resulted in no points.

Rushing Attack

Adam Randall and Gideon Davidson are doing enough to keep the Florida State defense honest. The two have combined to rush for 58 yards against the Noles’ Top 25 rush defense. The two averaged more than four yards per carry.

Possessing the Ball

Clemson dominated the time of possession, holding the ball for more than 19 minutes over the first two quarters of action.

Photo by Bart Boatwright