It's the Florida State Football Film Review. Every week we break down the result of the previous Florida State game. Who really played well for the Seminoles? Which players played poorly? Where did the coaches do well, and when did they screw up?
All analyzed plays will eventually appear in the Florida State Film Review section of the website. We do not analyze plays in garbage time.
This content is free. Please keep it that way by sharing it on Facebook.
Observations
Defensive coordinator Charles Kelly had a good gameplan coming out of the bye week and his players executed it fairly well vs an offense with elite skill position talent.
We know that in the past few games, FSU has been fairly predictable in their coverages based on the down and would prefer to play man on third down with their Money personnel. That was not the case vs Clemson as FSU did a nice job mixing coverages once they got Clemson to third down.
We saw a mix of Cover 1, Cover 2 man with a spy, Tampa 2 and Cover 4. Also, rather than being overly aggressive with blitzes, FSU used a variety of stunts by the defensive line to generate pressure and make it hard for DeShaun Watson to escape the pocket. The multiple coverages and various rush games up front made the Money package very effective for FSU up until the Trey Marshall ejection in the 4th quarter. At that point, FSU was without Derwin James, Nate Andrews and Marshall. Watson’s yards/attempt went from 7.3 before ejection, to 13.6 after — literally doubling.
Another interesting approach from FSU was how they mixed looks vs the single receiver to the boundary. From the boundary we saw:
- Corner blitz
- Off-man
- Off-man with Sweat dropping and robbing underneath
- Press-man
- Press-man with outside leverage with safety help inside
FSU anticipated Clemson wanting to get the ball to Mike Williams on the single receiver side and they had a plan for it. FSU didn’t always execute that plan perfectly (Ermon Lane missed tackle on the opening drive after forcing quick throw comes to mind) but they were able to limit it and even force a turnover when Tarvarus McFadden bluffed on the blitz and fooled Watson.
Clemson was able to exploit FSU via the pass on early downs. As we’ve discussed before, Marshall can be somewhat of a liability in coverage vs smaller, quick receivers and Clemson was willing to go at him on early downs with quick throws and throws down the field.
Linebacker play continues to be the major weakness of this defense. Roderick Hoskins and Matthew Thomas still miss fits vs the run and continue to be liabilities vs the pass. It’s also no coincidence that Florida State started to get stops on defense once Dontavious Jackson entered the game on the third series. However, Hoskins’ failure to wall off No. 3 v. trips was repeatedly exploited.
| D-D | AT | Form | Play | Analysis |
| 1-10 | at Cu35 | FS ball on FS35. | ||
| Logan Tyler kickoff 55 yards to the CU10, A. Scott return 22 yards to the CU32 (Jared Jackson;A.J. Westbrook). | ||||
| 1-10 | at Cu32 | 4-2-5 | Gallman rush over left guard for 5 yards to the CU37 (Derrick Nnadi). | Inside Zone. Gallman presses the backside A gap before jumping cutting to playside A. Nnadi sheds the block of the center but gives up his gap, allowing Gallman to find a crease. |
| 2-5 | at Cu37 | 4-2-5 | Watson rush quarterback draw for 2 yards to the CU39 (Ro'Derrick Hoskins;DeMarcus Walker). | Clemson lines up in 2 back but shifts to empty and runs QB draw to the boundary. Walker is slanting inside here so FSU gives up the edge but Hoskins makes a nice play to defeat the block of Gallman and make a physical tackle on Watson. |
| 3-3 | at Cu39 | 4-1-6 | Watson slant pass complete to M. Williams for 8 yards to the CU47, 1ST DOWN CU (Jacob Pugh), clock 13:47. | FSU blitzes Meyers and Star and rushes 5. They're playing off-man coverage to the boundary and Watson hits an easy slant to Williams. Looks like there could have been some miscommunication with the coverage here. White also misses the tackle and gives up another 5. |
| Injured player for FSU is #20-Marshall. Walked off the field. | ||||
| 1-10 | at Cu47 | 4-2-5 | Gallman rush over left guard for loss of 1 yard to the CU46 (Tarvarus McFadden), clock 13:25. | Clemson goes to an unbalanced look and jet motions the single receiver to the field. This is probably an auto check for the corner to blitz because he has no pass threat to his side. Great play by McFadden as he takes a nice angle to the back and finishes the tackle in the backfield. |
| 2-11 | at Cu46 | 4-2-5 | Watson rush QX for 1 yard to the CU47 (Derrick Nnadi), clock 12:48. | Meyers is in the game at Star. Clemson motions and flips the passing strength and FSU looks confused on how to adjust. Hoskins, however sinks to the hook-curl zone and takes away the receiver Watson is looking to throw to. Really nice play by Nnadi to stay in his rush lane and come off as Watson tries to leave the pocket. |
| 3-10 | at Cu47 | 4-1-6 | Watson sideline pass complete to M. Williams for 9 yards to the FS44 (A.J. Westbrook), clock 12:16. | Corner blitz. Watson throws the quick hitch to Williams and FSU has Lane in good position over top but he misses the tackle. Crucial missed tackle on 3rd down gives Clemson a short 4th down and a chance to go for it. This is an error fundamentals (missed tackle) because the blitz design worked perfectly to force the quick throw. |
| 4-1 | at Fs44 | 3-4 | Gallman rush over right guard for 2 yards to the FS42, 1ST DOWN CU (Jacob Pugh;DeMarcus Walker), clock 11:57. | G-Lead play as Clemson pulls the playside guard to kick out to EOL. Pugh plays it really well as he squeezes down and blows up the puller but the tackle gets just enough movement on Aime on his downblock to create enough room for Gallman to pick up the first. |
| 1-10 | at Fs42 | 4-2-5 | Watson post pass complete to Leggett for 41 yards to the FS1, 1ST DOWN CU (Ermon Lane;Kyle Meyers), clock 11:22. | Clemson lines up in Empty and motions the #3 receiver from the field to the boundary. We've seen FSU struggle with this look many times and they do so again here. This should be a simple check for the Mike(Hoskins) to "wall" #3 and then sink to the middle of the field when 3 goes vertical. Hoskins gets too wide and is not deep enough. Lane could also do a better job of splitting #2 and #3 vertical. He gets too far to the sideline where he has help from the corner, leaving a bigger hole in the deep middle. |
| 1-G | at Fs01 | 3-4 | Gallman rush over left tackle for 1 yard to the FS0, TOUCHDOWN, clock 11:05. | Inside Zone off Jet motion. Hoskins does not scrape over top and the jet motion causes Lane to hesitate in run support inside. |
| Huegel kick attempt good. | ||||
| Clemson 7, Florida State 0 | ||||
| Drive: 9 plays, 68 yards, TOP 03:59 | ||||
| 1-10 | at Cu20 | CLEMSON drive start at 05:27. | ||
| 1-10 | at Cu20 | 4-2-5 | Watson flag pass complete to Renfrow for 17 yards to the CU37, 1ST DOWN CU, clock 05:18. | FSU in Cover 1 with Thomas blitzing off the edge to the field. Renfrow is matched up with outside leverage vs Westbrook and is able to easily beat him on a corner route. Thomas beats the tackle and gets pressure but Watson makes a great throw under duress. |
| 1-10 | at Cu37 | 4-2-5 | Watson sideline pass complete to M. Williams for no gain to the CU37, clock 04:57. | Clemson goes fast and throws a quick screen to Williams to the boundary. McFadden beats the stalk block and the throw is low and Williams drops to his knees to make the catch. |
| 2-10 | at Cu37 | 4-2-5 | Watson rush quarterback draw for 11 yards to the CU48, 1ST DOWN CU, clock 04:19. | FSU lines up in a 40 front with Sweat aligned in a stand-up, wide 5 tech to the boundary and Thomas blitzing through the B gap to the boundary. FSU is not gap sound to the field here and Clemson finds room to run with a QB Lead Power play to the field. |
| 1-10 | at Cu48 | 4-2-5 | Gallman rush up middle for 11 yards to the FS41, 1ST DOWN CU (Trey Marshall), clock 04:01. | Zone Read. This is really bad by Thomas. He's got an A gap fit here but vacates the gap to chase the QB on his fake. |
| 1-10 | at Fs41 | 4-2-5 | Watson crossing pass incomplete to M. Williams (Derrick Nnadi), clock 03:41. | Clemson goes 2 back and play actions off Power Read with the lead back running a wheel route down the sideline. FSU is in Cover 2 here and this allows McFadden to pass off #1 and see the wheel early to take it away. Watson works to his second read and Nnadi is able to get his hands up to bat the ball. |
| 2-10 | at Fs41 | 4-2-5 | Watson sideline pass complete to Renfrow for 8 yards to the FS33 (Trey Marshall), clock 03:22. | Clemson runs a sprint out with a rub concept to the field to free up Renfrow in the slot vs Marshall. It's a nice play design but you'd also like to see Marshall recognize the splits of the receivers presnap and anticipate the route to get there sooner. |
| 3-2 | at Fs33 | 4-2-5 | Watson slant pass complete to M. Williams for 5 yards to the FS28, 1ST DOWN CU (Tarvarus McFadden), clock 02:48. | FSU is running a trap coverage vs the single receiver to the boundary. Playing off with the corner and inviting the slant while dropping Sweat at the snap to rob the slant. It's a good call as Clemson takes the bait but Sweat's angle is poor as he's slow to get his head around and see the receiver before he's behind him. |
| 1-10 | at Fs28 | 4-2-5 | Watson SH pass complete to A. Scott for 6 yards to the FS22, out-of-bounds (A.J. Westbrook), clock 02:22. | Clemson goes back to the unbalanced formation and runs a shovel pass to Scott on a sweep to the field. FSU has good leverage on this but Hoskins does a really poor job with his eyes as he hesistates and then gives up the outside by going inside the block of Leggett. |
| Previous play was a shovel pass to the end around. | ||||
| 2-4 | at Fs22 | 4-2-5 | Watson rush left for 18 yards to the FS4, 1ST DOWN CU (Ermon Lane). | Back to back bad plays by Hoskins. FSU blitzes him off the edge to the boundary and Clemson runs Zone Read at him. Hoskins has to take the QB here but instead, flies to the RB and gives up the edge. |
| 1-G | at Fs04 | 3-4 | Watson sideline pass complete to Renfrow for 4 yards to the FS0, TOUCHDOWN, clock 01:41. | This one's on White. FSU runs a trap coverage and White is overly aggressive to jump a quick throw and gets himself out of poisiton. He needs to show better discipline and drop to his zone once he sees the rollout from Watson. |
| Clemson 14, Florida State 0 | ||||
| Drive: 10 plays, 80 yards, TOP 03:46 | Bad LB play early on for FSU. | |||
| 1-10 | at Fs49 | CLEMSON drive start at 00:42. | ||
| 1-10 | at Fs49 | 4-2-5 | Watson deep pass incomplete to Cain, clock 00:36. | Cover 4 from FSU vs a 2x2 stack. Clemson runs 4 verts and tries to hit Cain deep vs McFadden. Great play by McFadden to get his hips turned, squeeze the route to the sideline and run step for step with Cain. |
| 2-10 | at Fs49 | 4-2-5 | Gallman rush over right guard for loss of 1 yard to the 50 yardline (Derrick Nnadi), clock 00:14. | Clemson overloads the field side with 3 receivers, an H back and the RB aligned to the field. Zone Read and Watson gives. Nnadi destroys the center 1on1 and blows the play up in the back field. |
| 3-11 | at Cu50 | 4-1-6 | Watson sacked for loss of 1 yard to the CU49 (Brian Burns). | Good call and use of personnel by FSU on this 3rd down play. FSU rushes 3 (Walker, Pugh, Sweat), spies Watson with Burns, and plays 2 man under behind vs Empty. FSU has everyone covered downfield and Burns shows his exceptional athleticism here to chase down Watson for the sack. |
| 4-12 | at Cu49 | Teasdall punt 44 yards to the FS7, fair catch by Nyqwan Murray. | ||
| Drive: 3 plays, minus 2 yards, TOP 01:26 | ||||
| 1-10 | at Fs47 | CLEMSON drive start at 13:18. | ||
| 1-10 | at Fs47 | 4-2-5 | Watson screen pass complete to Gallman for 2 yards to the FS45 (DeMarcus Walker;Dontavious Jackson), clock 12:49. | Swing pass the the RB from Clemson. Clemson does not block Jackson as the playside backer and he makes them pay. Impressive redirect by Jackson as he quickly diagnoses the pass and takes a great angle to beat Gallman to the flat. |
| 2-8 | at Fs45 | 4-2-5 | Watson ML pass complete to Thompson for 7 yards to the FS38 (Trey Marshall), clock 12:22. | Clemson motions Thompson to the slot to the field and gets him matched up on Marshall. Marshall is in decent coverage but Watson places the ball in the perfect spot. |
| 3-1 | at Fs38 | 4-2-5 | Watson deep out pass intercepted by Marquez White at the FS26, Marquez White return 14 yards to the FS40, out-of-bounds. | Clemson runs a sprint out with a 2 man flood concept. FSU looks to be in cover 2 but White reads the eyes of Watson and sinks to undercut the deeper route and get the interception. |
| Drive: 3 plays, 9 yards, TOP 01:15 | ||||
| Logan Tyler kickoff 65 yards to the CU0, touchback. | ||||
| 1-10 | at Cu25 | CLEMSON drive start at 08:20. | ||
| 1-10 | at Cu25 | 4-2-5 | Watson rush RO for 3 yards to the CU28 (DeMarcus Walker), clock 08:00. | Busted play from Clemson as they are trying to run Power Read but the back runs a wheel route instead of the sweep. Excellent play by Walker to be patient and then slip behind the pulling guard to tackle Watson. |
| 2-7 | at Cu28 | 4-2-5 | Watson slant pass complete to Mccloud for 11 yards to the CU39, 1ST DOWN CU (Trey Marshall). | FSU in Cover 4. Clemson hits McCloud on an underneath route in which Hoskins badly overruns. This is the second error in coverage for Hoskins and both times he's been too locked on the QB and unable to recognize and match up to receivers in his zone. |
| 1-10 | at Cu39 | 4-2-5 | Gallman rush over left end for 4 yards to the CU43 (Trey Marshall;DeMarcus Walker), clock 07:08. | Clemson goes 3x1 to the boundary and runs Zone Read. Sweat slow plays the read and forces the give. Excellent job by Jackson to read the back, scrape and agressively fill and strike on the ballcarrier but he does not wrap and finish the tackle. |
| 2-6 | at Cu43 | 4-2-5 | Watson rush quarterback draw for 3 yards to the CU46 (DeMarcus Walker), clock 06:39. | Clemson catches FSU in man vs an unbalanced as they motion the back out of the backfield and run a QB counter. Nice play by Hoskins on the edge to beat the kick out block and then take on the second puller and turn Watson inside. Walker then defeats the downblock of the tackle and works back across his face to minimize the gain. |
| 3-3 | at Cu46 | 4-1-6 | Watson rush right for no gain to the CU46 (Ermon Lane), clock 06:10. | FSU in Cover 1 as Clemson runs QB sweep. Gallman is the lead blocker here and looks unsure of his responsibility as he hesistates to block Lane. Lane takes advantage with his agressiveness as the force defender as to first keep contain and then go make the play. |
| 4-3 | at Cu46 | Teasdall punt 40 yards to the FS14, out-of-bounds. | ||
| Drive: 5 plays, 21 yards, TOP 02:41 | ||||
| 1-10 | at Cu32 | CLEMSON drive start at 04:45. | ||
| 1-10 | at Cu32 | 4-2-5 | Gallman rush right for 7 yards to the CU39 (Derrick Nnadi;Josh Sweat), clock 04:28. | Zone Read, Watson gives. Jackson is quick to fill but unable to finish behind the line of scrimmage as Gallman makes a nice move to the outside. Walker is late to shed the block of the tackle and Gallman is by him before he can get his hands free. Really nice hustle by Nnadi and Sweat on the back side to chasedown the ball. |
| 2-3 | at Cu39 | 4-2-5 | Watson sideline pass complete to M. Williams for 17 yards to the FS44, 1ST DOWN CU (Trey Marshall), clock 04:03. | White again is overly aggressive here in Cover 4 to jump the screen pass, leaving a hole behind him for Watson to hit Williams. |
| 1-10 | at Fs44 | 4-2-5 | Watson rush RO for 13 yards to the FS31, 1ST DOWN CU, clock 03:31. | Zone Read. Based on FSU's alignment here, they are using the backer to squeeze the dive and having the safety fill in run support to take the QB. Westbrook is a step slow to fill and then misses the tackle in the open field. |
| 1-10 | at Fs31 | PENALTY CU false start (Hearn) 5 yards to the FS36, clock 03:07. | ||
| 1-15 | at Fs36 | Timeout Clemson, clock 03:07. | ||
| 1-15 | at Fs36 | 4-2-5 | Watson MR pass complete to Leggett for 11 yards to the FS25 (Dontavious Jackson;Marquez White), clock 02:40. | Clemson goes 3x1 and stretches the defense with a Scissors concept from the #2 and #3 receiver while running #1 underneath. Easy pitch and catch. As an underneatch defender, Jackson needs to continue to get width and find #1 and the hook-curl area. |
| 2-4 | at Fs25 | 4-2-5 | Watson deep pass incomplete to Renfrow, PENALTY FS pass interference (Trey Marshall) 12 yards to the FS13, 1ST DOWN CU, NO PLAY, clock 02:25. | Cover 1 from FSU with Marshall lined up in off coverage vs Renfrow in the slot. Smart call for Clemson to go at him. Marshall is too agressive in his collision. He can uses his hands at the top of the route but just enough to slow down the receiver and remain in phase. He basicaly tackles Renfrow. |
| 1-10 | at Fs13 | 4-2-5 | Watson rush RO for 7 yards to the FS6, out-of-bounds, clock 02:19. | Zone Read. Sweat tries to slow play the read but gets a step too far inside and gives up the edge on the QB keep. |
| 2-3 | at Fs06 | 3-4 | Watson TR pass incomplete to M. Williams, clock 01:57. | Clemson tries to double move to Williams in the back of the endzone vs White in off coverage. Nice play by White to not bite and stay in decent position as the ball is overthrown. |
| 3-3 | at Fs06 | 4-1-6 | Watson crossing pass incomplete to M. Williams, QB hurry by DeMarcus Walker, clock 01:53. | Cover 1 from FSU. Taylor is playing a "catch man" technique on the goal line. In this tech he should be heels on the goalline, reading the receiver. If the receiver breaks in or out quick, you drive the route. If the receive pushes vertical you collision and play through the hands. Taylor gives ground as Williams pushes vertical and leaves room for Williams to break inside down the goalline. This should of been a touchdown but Watson misses the throw high. |
| 4-3 | at Fs06 | Huegel field goal attempt from 23 GOOD, clock 01:49. | ||
| Clemson 17, Florida State 7 | ||||
| Drive: 8 plays, 62 yards, TOP 03:01 | ||||
| Logan Tyler kickoff 65 yards to the CU0, touchback. | ||||
| 1-10 | at Cu25 | CLEMSON drive start at 00:23. | ||
| 1-10 | at Cu25 | 4-1-6 | Gallman rush over left guard for no gain to the CU25 (Jacob Pugh). | Inside Zone. Pugh whips the playside tackle and makes the solo stop. |
| 2-10 | at Cu25 | End of half, clock 00:00. | ||
| Drive: 1 plays, 0 yards, TOP 00:23 | ||||
| Clemson 17, Florida State 14 | ||||
| 2-10 | at Cu25 | Start of 3rd quarter, clock 15:00, CU ball on CU35. | ||
| 1-10 | at Cu05 | CLEMSON drive start at 12:03. | ||
| 1-10 | at Cu05 | Watson at QB for Clemson. | ||
| 1-10 | at Cu05 | 4-2-5 | Watson rush left for loss of 1 yard to the CU4 (Josh Sweat), clock 11:44. | Split Zone Read. This should have been a give but Watson keeps. Fantastic play from Sweat as he gets his hands on the inside of the H back who is trying to arc block to the backer. Hoskins is scraping to the outside and is unblocked, forcing Watson back insde and into Sweat. |
| 2-11 | at Cu04 | 4-2-5 | Watson MR pass incomplete to Leggett (Demarcus Christmas), clock 11:32. | Clemson is trying to work the #3 receiver vs Hoskins at backer. They've got him up on a quick hitch but Christmas does a good job to recognize the quick throw and get his hands up. |
| 3-11 | at Cu04 | 4-1-6 | Watson deep pass complete to Cain for 29 yards to the CU33, 1ST DOWN CU, out-of-bounds (Trey Marshall), clock 11:21. | FSU rushes 4, spies with Burns and plays 2 man under coverage. White uses good technique at the LOS here but Cain is able to accelerate and get seperation down the field. Watson throws a perfect pass to lead Cain and get it there before Marshall arrives. |
| 1-10 | at Cu33 | 4-2-5 | Watson WR pass complete to A. Scott for 7 yards to the CU40 (Trey Marshall;A.J. Westbrook), clock 10:47. | Clemson aligns in a Trips bunch to the field and throws a quick screen. Clemson has numbers by alignment but Marshall does a nice job to occupy both blockers and minimize the gain with Westbrook finally arriving from the depe safety to help. |
| 2-3 | at Cu40 | 4-2-5 | Watson ML pass complete to A. Scott for 7 yards to the CU47, 1ST DOWN CU (Marcus Lewis), clock 10:27. | Macus Lewis enters the game and Clemson goes at him. FSU in Cover 4 with Lewis playing off and Clemson runs double slants to the field. Marshall could be a hair quicker to get underneath the slant but this is a pretty well timed throw and catch. |
| 1-10 | at Cu47 | 4-2-5 | Watson deep pass complete to Cain for 40 yards to the FS13, 1ST DOWN CU, clock 10:05. | FSU blitzes Jackson but Clemson picks it up and gives Watson time to take a shot down field and test Lewis again. This is really bad press technique by Lewis at the LOS. He tries to two hand jam, doesn't move his feet at all and is beat right away. Not a great throw from Watson or else this is a TD. |
| 1-10 | at Fs13 | 4-2-5 | Watson pass incomplete to Mccloud, clock 09:56. | Clemson goes fast and FSU doesn't get aligned. Luckily for FSU, Watson rushes the throw and it's high and incomplete. |
| 2-10 | at Fs13 | PENALTY CU false start (A. Scott) 5 yards to the FS18, clock 09:51. | ||
| 2-15 | at Fs18 | 4-2-5 | Watson post pass incomplete to Renfrow (Trey Marshall), clock 09:50. | Clemson gets Renfrow matched up 1on1 with Marshall in the slot again and takes a shot in the endzone. Watson hesitates and then underthrows the ball or else this is a TD. Marshall badly misjudges the ball in the air, should have been picked. |
| 3-15 | at Fs18 | 4-1-6 | Watson rush QX for 1 yard to the FS17 (Jacob Pugh), clock 09:14. | Clemson is trying to set up a QB draw here out of Empty but the stunts from the FSU front confuses the Clemson OL and leaves Watson with no where to go. |
| 4-14 | at Fs17 | Huegel field goal attempt from 34 GOOD, clock 09:08. | ||
| Clemson 20, Florida State 14 | ||||
| Drive: 10 plays, 78 yards, TOP 03:00 | ||||
| 1-10 | at Cu33 | CLEMSON drive start at 07:07. | ||
| 1-10 | at Cu33 | 4-2-5 | Watson SH pass complete to Mccloud for 2 yards to the CU35 (Trey Marshall;A.J. Westbrook), clock 06:45. | Jet sweep to the field. Excellent reactions from Jackson and Westbrook on this play. Westbrook in particular is agressive and takes an exellent inside-out angle in running the alley to make the stop. |
| Previous play was a shovel pass to the end around. | ||||
| 2-8 | at Cu35 | 4-2-5 | Watson slant pass intercepted by Tarvarus McFadden at the CU44, Tarvarus McFadden return 1 yards to the CU43 (M. Williams). | McFadden is calling to the safety pre-snap to cover for him on a corner blitz but at the snap he steps inside and then sinks to the flat. Watson is fooled and McFadden is able to come up with the interception. FSU is mixing up their calls to the single receiver and it pays off big here. |
| Drive: 2 plays, 2 yards, TOP 00:41 | ||||
| Logan Tyler kickoff 65 yards to the CU0, touchback. | ||||
| 1-10 | at Cu25 | CLEMSON drive start at 06:18. | ||
| 1-10 | at Cu25 | 4-2-5 | Gallman rush left for 9 yards to the CU34 (Ermon Lane), clock 06:06. | Zone Read. Sweat shoots into the B gap and there's no one on the edge to contain Gallman. Williams gets away with a hold on McFadden to the outside. |
| 2-1 | at Cu34 | 4-2-5 | Gallman rush up middle for 4 yards to the CU38, 1ST DOWN CU, clock 05:34. | Zone Read again. Hoskins has the A gap here but fits to the outside and leaves a lane for Gallman. |
| 1-10 | at Cu38 | 4-2-5 | Watson sideline pass complete to Renfrow for 13 yards to the FS49, 1ST DOWN CU (Trey Marshall), clock 05:19. | Clemson goes play action and rolls out Watson to the field vs man coverage from FSU. Nice route man-beater concept from Clemson as they run a curl and a wheel-comeback where Renfrow is able to easily get open vs Marshall underneath. |
| 1-10 | at Fs49 | 4-2-5 | Gallman rush over right guard for no gain to the FS49 (Demarcus Christmas;Derrick Nnadi), clock 04:49. | Zone Read as Watson gets a give read. FSU has a corner blitz to the boundary with Sweat and Christmas slanting inside. This messes up the blocking scheme for CU and gives Gallman no where to go. |
| 2-10 | at Fs49 | 4-2-5 | Watson rush QX for 6 yards to the FS43 (Tarvarus McFadden), PENALTY CU holding (Hyatt) 10 yards to the CU41, NO PLAY, clock 04:33. | FSU is clearly expecting pass as the DL gets up field at the snap and forces Watson out of the pocket. Great awareness by McFadden to come off his man and make the tackle. Clear hold on Hyatt as Walker had him beat. |
| 2-20 | at Cu41 | 4-2-5 | Watson slant pass incomplete to Renfrow, clock 04:19. | Tunnel screen to the field. Clemson looks to have numbers here but Walker makes a fantastic play to defeat the cut block and then get his hands up and force an inaccurate throw from Watson. |
| 3-20 | at Cu41 | 4-1-6 | Watson sideline pass incomplete to Leggett, QB hurry by Josh Sweat, clock 04:14. | Tampa 2 Coverage from FSU. They align Walker over the center and then loop Burns behind him through the middle. This gets pressure right away as Watson tries to leave the pocket. Sweat is there to get his hands on him and Watson barely gets the ball out. |
| 4-20 | at Cu41 | Teasdall punt 29 yards to the FS30, fair catch by Nyqwan Murray. | ||
| Drive: 6 plays, 16 yards, TOP 02:11 | FSU DL making a huge impact. | |||
| 1-10 | at Cu29 | CLEMSON drive start at 02:32. | ||
| 1-10 | at Cu29 | 4-2-5 | Watson sacked for loss of 5 yards to the CU24 (Derrick Nnadi), clock 02:14. | Clemson goes play action out of doubles and is looking to hit Leggett over the middle but FSU appears to be in good position to take it away. Sweat does a great job transitioning from run to pass and beats Hyatt to get pressure on Watson. Meanwhile, Nnadi is tossing the center around in the middle of the pocket and comes off to get the sack as Watson tries to step up and escape the pocket. |
| 2-15 | at Cu24 | 4-2-5 | Watson middle pass complete to Leggett for 10 yards to the CU34 (A.J. Westbrook), PENALTY CU illegal formation 5 yards to the CU19, NO PLAY, clock 01:53. | Not enough players on the line of scrimmage. |
| 2-20 | at Cu19 | 4-2-5 | Gallman rush draw play for 12 yards to the CU31 (Ro'Derrick Hoskins), clock 01:28. | RB draw to the boundary. McFadden is in great position at the LOS but displays really poor technique. He turns his shoulders inside and misses the tackle as Gallman cuts to the outside. |
| 3-8 | at Cu31 | 4-1-6 | Watson deep pass incomplete to Cain, clock 01:02. | FSU rushes 5 with some twists up front and plays Cover 4 behind. White plays the vertical from Cain very well but trips and falls before the ball arrives. Overthrow from Watson. |
| 4-8 | at Cu31 | Teasdall punt 39 yards to the FS30, fair catch by Nyqwan Murray. | ||
| Drive: 3 plays, 2 yards, TOP 01:37 | ||||
| Logan Tyler kickoff 65 yards to the CU0, touchback. | ||||
| 1-10 | at Cu25 | CLEMSON drive start at 00:43. | ||
| 1-10 | at Cu25 | 4-2-5 | Gallman rush up middle for 4 yards to the CU29 (DeMarcus Walker), clock 00:32. | Zone Read out of doubles. Walker slow plays the read and forces the give and is then able to squeeze down and make the tackle. |
| 2-6 | at Cu29 | 4-2-5 | Gallman rush over left guard for 1 yard to the CU30 (DeMarcus Walker;Fredrick Jones), clock 00:10. | Same play but FSU switches up the front and puts Walker in a 4i, so Clemson reads Jackson at backer. Jackson scrapes over top so Watson gives. Really nice plays up front by Aime and Jones. Aime beats and sheds the guard and Jones splits the double team. |
| 3-5 | at Cu30 | 4-1-6 | Watson slant pass complete to M. Williams for 14 yards to the CU44, 1ST DOWN CU (Marquez White), clock 14:46. | Slant to the boundary vs press man. Mike Williams is an elite receiver and has a big size advantage on White. |
| 1-10 | at Cu44 | 4-2-5 | Watson slant pass incomplete to Mccloud (DeMarcus Walker), clock 14:36. | Double slants to the field. Walker knows it's a quick pass and gets his hands up to deflect. White was also in great position to break this up if the pass were to get through. |
| 2-10 | at Cu44 | 4-2-5 | Watson rush RO for 3 yards to the CU47 (DeMarcus Walker;Derrick Nnadi), clock 14:18. | Power Read with Watson reading Walker. Walker shows a keep read but Clemson is slow at the mesh point and Walker has enough time to redirect and still make the tackle on Watson. |
| 3-7 | at Cu47 | 4-1-6 | Watson deep pass complete to M. Williams for 17 yards to the FS36, 1ST DOWN CU (Trey Marshall), PENALTY FS personal foul (Trey Marshall) 15 yards to the FS21, 1ST DOWN CU, clock 13:51. | 2 man under from FSU with Burns as a spy. McFadden is way too aggressive in his jam and gets himself out of position. Watson throws a perfect ball as Marshall comes over top and delivers a huge hit. Targeting call is devastating for FSU at a position where they have no depth. |
| 1-10 | at Fs21 | 4-2-5 | Watson rush QX for 4 yards to the FS17 (Josh Sweat), clock 13:24. | FSU goes Cover 1 and covers everyone up downfield. Watson finds a small crease in the middle of the pocket but Sweat shows good hustle to limit it to a short gain. |
| 2-6 | at Fs17 | 4-2-5 | Gallman rush up middle for 2 yards to the FS15 (DeMarcus Walker;Derrick Nnadi), clock 12:51. | Zone Read and Watson gives. FSU calls the corner blitz from the boundary again and slants Sweat & Christmas inside. This forces Gallman to cutback and he runs into Walker who whipped the tackle and makes the play. Also a nice anchor from Nnadi vs the double team. |
| 3-4 | at Fs15 | 4-1-6 | Watson post pass complete to A. Scott for 13 yards to the FS2, 1ST DOWN CU (Ermon Lane), clock 12:18. | Clemson lines up in doubles but motions trips to the field. FSU has a blitzed called and is unable to get the correct coverage check as they bust the coverage over the middle. There's no communication between Thomas, Meyers and Taylor pre-snap. |
| 1-G | at Fs02 | 3-4 | Gallman rush over left guard for 2 yards to the FS0, TOUCHDOWN, clock 11:30. | Zone Read and Watson gives. FSU has this defended really well as Christmas and Nnadi eat up double teams and Westbrook is a free runner to the backfield. He can't finish the play and Gallman shows a great second effort to get to the endzone. |
| Official Review: Call on the field is runner stopped at the FSU #1. | ||||
| Official Review: Call is overturned. Touchdown. | ||||
| 1-G | at Fs03 | Timeout Florida State, clock 11:30. | ||
| 4-1-6 | Watson pass attempt failed. | Clemson tries to work a short comeback at the pilon on the backside. FSU gives McFadden help to the inside so he can play outside leverage and take this away. Good coverage. | ||
| Florida State 28, Clemson 26 | ||||
| Drive: 10 plays, 75 yards, TOP 04:13 | ||||
| 1-10 | at Cu48 | CLEMSON drive start at 08:53. | ||
| 1-10 | at Cu48 | 4-2-5 | Watson slant pass incomplete to Renfrow (DeMarcus Walker), clock 08:49. | Clemson tries to work out quick out to the #3 receiver vs Jackson. Just a poor throw that's behind Renfrow. |
| 2-10 | at Cu48 | 4-2-5 | Gallman rush over left guard for 4 yards to the FS48 (Demarcus Christmas), PENALTY CU illegal formation 5 yards to the CU43, NO PLAY, clock 08:45. | Not enough men on the line of scrimmage. |
| 2-15 | at Cu43 | 4-2-5 | Watson sacked for loss of 6 yards to the CU37 (Demarcus Christmas), clock 08:08. | FSU in Cover 1 and Watson can't find anyone downfield. Nice rush discipline by the FSU DL making it difficult for Watson to leave the pocket. Christmas gets away with a facemask on the sack. |
| 3-21 | at Cu37 | 4-1-6 | Watson post pass complete to Renfrow for 20 yards to the FS43, clock 07:22. | FSU rushes 3 with Burns as a spy and plays Tampa 2 coverage. Pugh gets pressure but Watson steps up and delivers a strike to Renfrow between Meyers and Westbrook. Westbrook is in good position but Watson puts it where only the receiver can get it and Renfrow makes a great catch. Huge play for Clemson to keep the drive alive. |
| Official Review: Call on the field is a complete pass. | ||||
| Official Review: Call on the field stands. | ||||
| 4-1 | at Fs43 | 4-1-6 | Gallman rush right for 11 yards to the FS32, 1ST DOWN CU (Calvin Brewton), clock 07:00. | FSU curiously stays in their dime package on 4th and short. Nice call by Clemson to toss it outside and let their two stud DT's lead the way vs some smaller defenders for FSU. |
| 1-10 | at Fs32 | 4-2-5 | Gallman rush over left end for 4 yards to the FS28 (Demarcus Christmas;A.J. Westbrook), clock 06:26. | Inside Zone. Walker is in a 4i and gets sealed by the tackle so Gallman bounces. Jackson can't get off the block of the guard but Westbrook comes up in support to the outside. He's there to make the play at the LOS but Gallman lowers his shoulder and runs threw him for a couple extra yards. |
| 2-6 | at Fs28 | 4-2-5 | Watson sacked for loss of 1 yard to the FS29 (Ro'Derrick Hoskins), clock 05:52. | Clemson runs a rollout to the field with a smash route concept. FSU in man coverage and Meyers does a great job running step for step with Renfrow on the corner route. Walker keeps contain then goes for the sack but Watson makes him miss before Hoskins is able to bring him down. |
| 3-7 | at Fs29 | 4-1-6 | Watson post pass incomplete to Leggett, clock 05:30. | Clemson aligns in 3x1 and motions Leggett to the slot to the boundary and gets him matched up vs Brewton. Leggett beats Brewton over the middle but the pass is a little too far out in front and Leggett can't come up with it as FSU catches a break. |
| 4-7 | at Fs29 | Huegel field goal attempt from 46 GOOD, clock 05:25. | ||
| Clemson 29, Florida State 28 | ||||
| Drive: 8 plays, 23 yards, TOP 03:34 | ||||
| 1-10 | at Cu25 | CLEMSON drive start at 03:23. | ||
| 1-10 | at Cu25 | 4-2-5 | Watson post pass complete to Leggett for 25 yards to the 50 yardline, 1ST DOWN CU (Kyle Meyers), clock 03:16. | Clemson lines up in empty and then motions #3 to the boundary(uh oh). Hoskins is trying to communicate the check to Jackson but Jackson doesn't hear it. As a result, Jackson doesn't come over and carry #3 vertical and Leggett is wide open for a huge gain. |
| 1-10 | at Cu50 | 4-2-5 | Gallman rush up middle for 5 yards to the FS45 (Demarcus Christmas), clock 02:51. | Zone Read out of doubles and Watson gives. Clemson gets a nice double team on Christmas to get some movement while having the tackle overtake him and the guard work up to Jackson. Great effort from Christmas as he fights through the block to eventually make the play. |
| 2-5 | at Fs45 | 4-2-5 | Watson deep pass incomplete to Renfrow, QB hurry by Josh Sweat, clock 02:32. | Clemson aligns 3x1 and tries to pump the bubble and hit the #2 receiver down the seam. FSU is in Cover 4 and Westbrook does a nice job to stay over top while Jackson sinks underneath to take it away. Sweat gets pressure and Watson is forced to leave the pocket before throwing it away. |
| 3-5 | at Fs45 | 4-1-6 | Watson ML pass complete to Leggett for 11 yards to the FS34, 1ST DOWN CU (Calvin Brewton), clock 02:22. | Great call by Clemson as they anticipate man coverage from FSU on third down. They motion a receiver to the nub TE and run a 3 man route concept with the TE, RB and WR that confuses the FSU defenders. Leggett is left uncovered on a curl route for the first down. |
| 1-10 | at Fs34 | 4-2-5 | Watson deep out pass complete to Leggett for 34 yards to the FS0, 1ST DOWN CU, TOUCHDOWN, clock 02:06. | 3x1 from Clemson and they run a Scissors(deep switch) concept with the #2 and #3 receivers vs Cover 4. Meyers has to run with #2 vertical with eyes on #3 in case he runs a corner in which case he must come off #2.. He doesn't see #3 and leaves him wide open on the corner route. |
| Official Review: Call on the field is a touchdown. | ||||
| Official Review: Call on the field is confirmed. | ||||
| 4-1-6 | Watson pass attempt to M. Williams good. | FSU in Cover 2 on the conversion. Lane's got the back half of the endzone but follows the number 2 receiver outside and gives up deep dig to Williams. | ||
| Clemson 37, Florida State 34 | ||||
| Drive: 5 plays, 75 yards, TOP 01:22 |