No Famous Jameis? No problem. FSU is still victorious
Following the Jameis Winston suspension handed down earlier in the week, the number one ranked Florida State Seminoles had a tough task ahead of them in the ACC opener versus Clemson. How would his backup Sean Maguire, who had never started a game do on the big stage? Would the Seminoles defense go into overdrive and lead the team to a victory? It was definitely not a pretty one for Florida State today, because the offense was unable to find any sort of rhythm.
That was until they rallied late.
Everyone was hoping coach Jimbo Fisher would somehow change his mind and allow the Heisman winner back on the field after the team trailed 10-3 at the half, but he made it very clear before the game even began. The head coach had a brief discussion with Winston who was warming up in full pads and forced his suspended quarterback to go back into the locker room to change.
The game was extremely close throughout much of the second half, but the fourth quarter was dominated by defense. Clemson forced the rattled Maguire into a bad throw across the middle, leading to his second interception of the night. FSU would accept the challenge with their backs against the wall by stripping the football from CJ Davidson a little while later and recovering it with only 1:54 remaining. They weren’t giving up without a fight.
Upon entering overtime, the excitement spilled over into the extra minutes. Once again it was the FSU’s defense that stepped up as they stuffed Clemson on 4th and inches when they started gaining momentum in their first drive. After recovering with turnover on downs, only two plays later, Karlos Williams would run it in for the hard fought win and extend their winning streak to 19 games.
The Seminoles remain on top.