Florida State Falls on the road to Clemson

CLEMSON, S.C. – The Florida State football team suffered a 24-10 loss at Clemson on Saturday night in Clemson, South Carolina.

The Seminoles (4-5, 1-5 ACC) had 360 yards of offense, 250 passing and 110 rushing, while the Tigers (4-5, 3-4 ACC) had 319 yards offensively, 221 through the air and 98 on the ground.

Saturday was the third time that FSU did not allow a touchdown in the second half, and the fifth time the opposition was held to fewer than 100 yards rushing.

Quarterback Tommy Castellanos was 23-for-43 for 250 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Wide receiver Duce Robinson had 124 receiving yards on nine catches with a long of 27, all game highs. Fellow wide receiver Lawayne McCoy caught his second career touchdown pass.

Robinson's 124 yards give Florida State a 100-yard receiver in four consecutive games, a first for the team since a five-game stretch from 2013-14. Robinson is the first Seminole with four 100-yard receiving games in a season since Rashad Greene had eight in 2014.

Defensively, linebacker Blake Nichelson and defensive back Ashlynd Barker each had seven tackles. Barker was one of five players with three solo tackles, including a sack and 1.5 tackles for loss. Defensive lineman Deante McCray had two TFLs with five tackles, three solo.

Defensive lineman Mandrell Desir recorded five tackles, including a sack, his fourth of the season. He's the first true freshman to 4.0 sacks since Joshua Kaindoh in 2017.

Clemson took the lead on the opening possession of the game with a 13-play, 6:35-minute drive capped by a four-yard touchdown run. The Tigers then converted the two-point conversion to make it 8-0.

The Florida State defense followed by forcing a three-and-out on the next three drives. Then, a turnover on downs gave Clemson the ball on FSU's 39, and two plays later, a 34-yard touchdown pass extended the Tigers' lead to 15-0 with 12:01 left in the second quarter.

The Seminoles then held CU to a field goal to make it 18-0 with 2:33 remaining in the half.

FSU's offense responded with a touchdown to cut the deficit to 18-7 with 33 seconds left in the half. The 10-play drive in just 1:58 featured a 21-yard pass by Castellanos to McCoy on third down to get the Seminoles past midfield, and a Castellanos run for 26 yards on fourth-and-two also kept the drive alive and put the visitors inside the red zone. Castellanos' seven-yard pass to McCoy on third down capped the scoring drive.

To start the second half, Florida State missed a 40-yard field goal, and Clemson kicked a field goal on its first drive of the half to make it 21-7 with 6:01 left in the third. A field goal less than a minute into the fourth quarter made it a 24-7 game after a nine-play drive that took nearly five minutes.

The Seminoles answered with a field goal of their own, as kicker Jake Weinberg was successful from 46 yards to make it 24-10 with 7:37 remaining in regulation. The kick capped a 13-play, 47-yard drive that took 6:41 and included five plays of 10 yards or more.

A three-and-out gave FSU the ball back with just over five minutes left, and Florida State got to Clemson's 36, but a sack on fourth down ended the scoring threat. The Seminoles got the ball again with 2:27 remaining, and a three-and-out gave them the ball again with 22 seconds on the clock, but the visitors could not get another score before time expired.

Florida State is back at Doak Campbell Stadium next weekend for its home finale against Virginia Tech. Kickoff in Tallahassee is at 7:30 p.m. ET, and the contest will be broadcast live on ACC Network.

Florida State Falls on the road to Clemson

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Team Stats

Tommy Castellanos

Squirrel White

Players Mentioned

Ashlynd Barker

Tommy Castellanos

Mandrell Desir

Lawayne McCoy

Deante McCray

Blake Nichelson

Duce Robinson

Jake Weinberg

Florida State University Athletics