The Clemson Tigers had everything set up perfectly on Saturday night. Jameis Winston, Florida State’s star, yet immature, quarterback was suspended for the entire game. The Clemson defensive line would dominate huge portions of the game. The Seminoles backup quarterback, Sean Maguire, would throw an interception with 2:14 left in a tie ballgame in the fourth that gave Clemson the ball deep in FSU territory. And oh yes, the game was on national television.
The entire states of Alabama, Oklahoma and Oregon were rooting for Clemson. This was their time to shed that “choking” reputation and finally pull off the big victory.
But something happened along the way… The Tigers were guilty of ‘Clemsoning’ yet again.
If you have haven’t heard the term ‘Clemsoning’, it simply refers to the fact that the Tigers always manage to find a way to lose a game every year that they shouldn’t. In the past, they have been able to win some big ballgames while faltering against less talented opponents. But for this game, against the No. 1 team in the country, they had victory within their grasp.
But…
Photo: Florida State players celebrate at the end of the game as Karlos Williams gets ambushed by his teammates
Photo source: Instagram
Two plays after the late game interception, Clemson running back C.J. Davidson fumbled the ball back to the Seminoles on the FSU 14-yard line.
Are you kidding me?
At that point, Florida State decided to play for overtime which was a great idea given Clemson’s tendency to fade in big-game situations… and their lack of a quality field goal kicker which is paramount in overtime games.
And fade is what Clemson did.
In the first overtime, Clemson failed to score after being stuffed on a 4th-and-1. Normally, most teams would have taken the three points and kicked a field goal but Clemson didn’t… couldn’t… wouldn’t.
Once Florida State took over, running back Karlos Williams ran the ball twice, scoring on the second play from 12 yards to give the Seminoles a 23-17 victory over No. 22 Clemson. Given the fact that the Seminoles could not run the ball all night long, it was fitting in an ironic way that they ran the ball easily in overtime to pick up the hard earned victory. When it came down to having to step up and play their entire best (or at least play at the same level they played the entire game), the Clemson defense blinked… and Williams ran right past them.
Much of the credit for this game belongs to the FSU defense to holding Clemson to 17 points. Maguire and the offense struggled most of the game but did manage to make some big plays along the way.
In the end, it was the ability of Florida State knowing how to win that helped the Seminoles retain their No. 1 ranking…
Or was it Clemson knowing how to lose?