Florida State spent Halloween night chasing a game it kept handing back to Clemson.
What looked on paper like a matchup with a struggling Tiger offense turned into a frustrating 36-24 Clemson win at Doak Campbell Stadium, with Florida State’s mistakes doing as much damage as anything Clemson created. The Seminoles fell to 3-5 overall and 1-4 in the ACC, while Clemson moved to 5-3 and 3-2 in conference play.
Clemson entered the night buried near the bottom of the ACC in total offense, scoring offense and passing offense, and the Tigers had gone four straight games without a passing touchdown. None of that mattered early. True freshman quarterback Tait Reynolds threw two touchdown passes before halftime, and Clemson had already turned Ashton Daniels’ two interceptions into 10 points by the break.
Florida State did have some early answers. Clemson struck first on an 18-yard touchdown pass from Reynolds to tight end Christian Bentancur, but Daniels quickly responded with a 46-yard touchdown to Micahi Danzy after a pass interference call moved the ball to the Clemson 46. That tied it at 7-7 and gave the Seminoles their best explosive play of the first half.
The back-and-forth continued for a bit. Clemson grabbed a 10-7 lead on a 35-yard Nolan Hauser field goal to end the first quarter, then Florida State tied it again on a 35-yard Gabe Panikowski field goal early in the second quarter after a 60-yard drive that included a 28-yard catch by Duce Robinson.
After that, Clemson took control.
Hauser added another 35-yard field goal, Reynolds found Olsen Patt-Henry on a 4-yard touchdown, and the Tigers suddenly had a 20-10 lead. Then came the turnovers that changed the shape of the night.
Daniels’ first interception was picked off by Jerome Carter III on a deep throw intended for Robinson and returned to the Clemson 49. His second came under pressure from Sammy Brown and was intercepted by Elliot Washington II.
Clemson cashed that in with a 50-yard Hauser field goal at the halftime buzzer.
That sequence was the difference in the half. Florida State managed just 27 total yards in the second quarter, struggled badly on third down and never got the run game going. Daniel Hughes also had a rough night punting, with a couple of short kicks giving Clemson better field position than the Tigers had any right to expect.
At the break, Florida State trailed 23-10, and the numbers reflected how hard the Seminoles had made things on themselves.
The second half started with more of the same. Florida State got the ball to open the third quarter but couldn’t generate much, and Clemson tacked on another field goal to extend the margin. Still, the Seminoles finally found some life in the fourth quarter.
Daniels capped a five-play, 75-yard drive with a 13-yard touchdown run, and Desirrio Riles converted the two-point try on a shovel pass to make it 29-18. Later, Daniels connected with true freshman Jasen Lopez for a 41-yard touchdown after Lopez beat the corner, pulling Florida State within 29-24 and briefly putting some tension back into the stadium.
Clemson shut that door fast. Reynolds broke loose for a long touchdown run on third-and-long, pushing the Tigers back out to a two-score lead and finishing off the 36-24 result.
Daniels ended the night with three interceptions and a lost fumble. Florida State never fully recovered from the giveaways, and Clemson took advantage of the chances it was handed. For the Seminoles, the margin for error keeps shrinking with each loss.
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